Mandie the Half-Demon Demon Slayer
by jumbochamploonrules
Summary: Once born to a Succubus long ago, Mandie soon realized her heritage and fought against it, becoming the slayer of thousands of demons in the process minus her nag of a companion Hawkaw, who she called IMPervious due to her immunity to death. Together they search the Fallen Star, hoping to find work and save lives. M for mature. Based on Diablo 3 events.
1. Arriving in Zombie Burgh

**This fanfic is based on the events of Diablo 3. Rated M for a lot of adult oriented themes  
****The characters I own are Mandie the Demon Slayer and her assistant Hawkaw the IMPervious. (Get the joke? Heehee :P)  
****Any other characters who appear will have their names highlighted in bold when introduced by name. Let's begin.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Bawwwsss! When are we gonna get there, bawss? I'm gettin' hawngry," said my annoying assistant in the form of the little imp... I never should've spared her.

"I told you a million times, Hawkaw, I'm not your boss, but your protector. And we're almost there. I can smell it... the stench of rotting flesh draws near. No doubt in my mind the Fallen Star has caused an outbreak of Undead... but how is my question," I frowned as we continued forward.

My name was Mandie the Demon Slayer, the dy at the end of my name being pronounced 'die' for those wondering. I was about 5 foot 6 with long black hair with red tinges in it put into twin tails. My face was strewn with freckles and a few stray blemishes, but none more so than a large scar on my cheek in the form of a triple slash. My build was about as average as you can get with my boobs being a C cup and my body weighing at least 180 without armor on. My weapon of choice was the same with all Demon Slayers. Dual-wielding hand crossbows. But mine were special. They had an unnatural ability to kill anything if I shot them in the head... everything, that is, except for Hawkaw. For some reason, she was completely impervious to pain and when I had killed her parents right before her, she immediately wanted to side with me... and before you say anything about me killing a little girl's parents, Hawkaw is an Imp, a demon of hell that never ages and has a small intelligence.

"But I'm haawwngry!" Hawkaw groaned as I then looked forward and smile. There were some zombies ahead.

"Then go eat. There's your prey. Now have at it, little nugget," I smiled at her, Hawkaw smirking at the zombie and rushing forward, slicing it to bits and then ripping into its flesh and eating it. I knew well enough that a zombie couldn't turn you into one of their kind unless they bit you, and even then, I knew a foolproof way to prevent someone from turning if they did get bit. Chop off their heads just as they begin to turn. They'd still turn into a zombie, but their intelligence would remain intact.

"Looks like we got the attention of some other zombies. Time to slaughter," I smiled as Hawkaw finished her dinner and I then proceeded to shoot numerous arrows at the heads of the zombies, them falling down with exploded heads with one arrow each. "Haww! Yer the best, bawss!" Hawkaw smiled at me as we then moved down the road some more and came upon a town that was being assaulted by some undead, a couple of soldiers in front of the town and trying to kill them, but I simply made my presence known as I shot the rest of the zombies straight through their skulls and the others amazed by my accuracy. I even managed to get a double hitter with one of the shots.

"Your aim is impeccable, miss. Tell me, who are you?... Wait... why do you have an imp traveling with you?" the head soldier asked.

"My name is Mandie, a slayer of the monsters you know as demons. And this little brat is Hawkaw," I frowned, Hawkaw frowning at that.

"Hey, Hawkaw not a brat!" she groaned at me.

"You are, have been, and always will be... anyways, we come to this town searching for information about the Fallen Star. I have reason to believe it will bring nothing but trouble, so I have come to eliminate any undead that rise from it... speaking of," I frowned as I saw something emerge from the ground. Another zombie. Once its head emerged, I shot it through the skull, same with the rest of the undead horde that tried to attack, the soldiers in awe at my skills.

"I've never seen anyone shoot like that before... I'm Captain Rumford. Here, you can enter the town. Speak with Leah at the Inn. She'll have information to share with you," the captain said as he opened the gates and I proceeded forward, me going into the town and Hawkaw following with skipping, the villagers a bit surprised by her before they saw that she had a leash connected to my torso. After all, she was still an imp, so I had to be careful not to let her stray too far.

I soon came upon the Inn and went inside, seeing that there were multiple people laid on the floor and that all of them had bite marks on them. I had to ask someone, so I asked the woman that was tending to them. She had short brown hair in a bob of sorts, a yellow headband on her head, a very kind and pretty face, and wore red clothes with long boots. She also had an arrow and bows on her, but they were holstered for now... but there was something about her that piqued my sensitive nose.

"Hmm... excuse me, miss, but how long have these people had these marks?" I asked her.

"They've been bitten at least an hour ago," Leah said, me smiling at that. That meant I could save these ones.

"Then I've got a job to do. In a few minutes, they will start to turn. When they do, I can save them from becoming zombies by cutting off their heads... doing so while they are turning will give them immunity to death until 100 years pass by and they will still be able to live life, just without a body," I said, Leah looking at me in confusion.

"But... what would they think?" Leah asked as she looked at one of the wounded.

"P-Please... save us... we'll take that... over turning... please..." one of the wounded said, me seeing that one of his friends had already started to turn. I immediately shot an arrow through his neck and chopped off his head, the man gasping as he gained his head and he looked around in confusion.

"S-She's right! It worked!" the man's head said, me then doing the same as the others started turning one by one. Now there were five bodies and five talking heads, three being men and two female. And the second female was no older than 7.

"Thank you, miss," the little girl smiled at me as I looked at Leah and she smiled at me.

"You're a miracle... thank you," Leah smiled at me.

"Don't thank me yet. I can smell it on you... a scent that was similar to that of my mother... and she was a demonic creature of hell... tell me, who were your parents?" I asked, Leah gasping at that and looking at me in shock.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." Leah gasped before Hawkaw then sniffed Leah's legs and gasped.

"Diawblo..." she said, me gasping as did the entirety of the people who heard her.

"What?! N-No, there's no way that I can be Diablo's daughter!" Leah said in shock and denial, me frowning at her and looking her in the eyes. I could smell it clearly. The Lord of Terror was definitely one of her ancestors.

"The imp speaks the truth, Leah. But you do not have to follow in that mad demon's footsteps... tell me, do you know of anything involving the Fallen Star? I promise I will spare you if you speak the truth," I said, Leah looking at me in shock and in fear before sighing.

"The Fallen Star hit the Cathedral to the northeast of here. And when it struck the ground, the zombies appeared, as well as the ones creating them, the Wretched Mothers. Uncle Deckard was sent down to the lower levels of the Cathedral. I had to rush back here to warn the villagers," Leah said, me not smelling a single lie in her sentence. "The road to the Cathedral has since been blocked by the soldiers because of the Wretched Mothers and their queen. If not stopped, the Undead horde will continue to plague New Tristram until all of it becomes like the old Tristram. We need help... please, can you help us?" Leah asked, me seeing her eyes were filled with tears.

"Of course I will help you. Come, Hawkaw! Time to slay some more zombie filth!" I said, Hawkaw trying to resist because of something she saw.

"Aw! C'mon! I want da milk!" Hawkaw complained when she saw the innkeeper had the milk in question.

"You can have it after we kill the Wretched Mother queen, now come along. Or would you like to go beddy bye again?" I smiled, Hawkaw frowning and giving in finally.

"You're no fair, bawss," she groaned at me.

"All's fair in love and war," I frowned at her. "Though in this case, it appears there will be very little love in this adventure..."


	2. Leah's Past

**Chapter 2**

Once I had left the Inn with Hawkaw, we proceeded back to the town gates and found Rumford helping the soldiers burn the undead bodies. I knew why already. In case they were to resurrect themselves again. They didn't even bother with the ones that had their heads blown off, however. Everyone knew that blowing a zombie's brains out was a surefire way to rid them of life forever.

"Captain Rumford? Leah has entrusted me to slay the Wretched Mothers and their queen. May I please go and do so?" I asked him.

"I admire your courage, but the road is full of undead and monsters," Rumford frowned.

"Oh really? You doubt the bawss's skills?!" Hawkaw frowned at him, me pulling on the leash and her groaning at that. "Oi! Don't do dat!" she groaned.

"Well, I will admit that your archery skills are quite impressive. Okay, go ahead and go after them, then. Take out any undead you come across on the road," Rumford said, one of the soldiers about to clear the way before something else did for me. A bunch of zombies. I smirked and shot them through the skull once each and then gasped as I saw a female zombie. She then proved she was unique when she barfed all over the ground and the bile turned into another zombie, me then connecting a shot that went through both of their skulls at the same time, Rumford gasping at that. "That was one of the Wretched Mothers! You'll find more down the road as well as the queen. Take them all out and we'll finally be able to rest peacefully tonight," Rumford said.

"Understood. Let's go, Hawkaw," I frowned as I tugged on her leash, Hawkaw frowning and following me, where I came across some more zombies down the path as well as small critters that were eating some of the killed humans on the path. The scavengers was what they were called. I shot them as well, as scavengers were known to attack anyone they came across. After handling them, we proceeded down the path and came across some more undead in the form of zombies and at least 3 different Wretched Mothers, me noticing that they ate the undead that had fallen and then barfed them up completely back to normal. They were, in fact, the grossest of the zombies.

After some more walking, I saw the gates of a town that was completely in ruins, the buildings reduced to rubble and crows all over. "Old Tristram... Diablo's stench reigns supreme here... though he is gone, his essence lives on in that Leah girl. It could be quite dangerous if anyone of evil intent learned of this," I frowned. But Hawkaw got my attention on something else.

"Bawss! It's da queen!" Hawkaw exclaimed as she pointed at a larger Wretched Mother, her puking up a brand new one of her kind upon seeing me. I smirked and shot a duo of shots, one at the queen and one at the regular Wretched Mother, both of them dying in one hit, me then getting the idea to take a nearby torch and light it.

"Whatcha doin' bawss?" Hawkaw asked.

"If another Wretched Mother eats this queen and barfs her up, she'd be back and at 'em in no time. Best to burn her while we have the chance," I said with seriousness, then burning the remains and leaving soon after via a Horadrim teleporter in the center of Old Tristram. And upon returning, I saw Rumford in the town's center speaking with Leah, who looked to be a bit uneasy. And I had a feeling as to why, but listened in all the same.

"So... my father was the Dark Wanderer?... And you say my mother, Adria, was a witch? And why didn't you ever tell me?!" Leah asked him in anger.

"Because we didn't want you to grow up thinking you were the offspring of the Lord of Terror. Think, Leah. If you were to know from a young age you were half demon, we don't know how anything would've turned out," Rumford said to her.

I then arrived and put my hand on Leah's shoulder, her sighing and loosening her tension a bit. "You're not the only one who wishes they weren't part demon, Leah... I hate that I'm also of demon blood, my mother being a powerful Succubus. I killed her when I met her at 13 and when she killed my human sister right in front of me... That was when I decided to kill all demons that came in my path," I said, Leah looking at my side and smirking.

"Then what's the deal with this little imp? And why the leash? Is she, like, your pet?" Leah smirked.

"Me Hawkaw and da bawss awdawpted me when she saw I was immune to death... dunno why, though," Hawkaw frowned.

"Same here, and it really is annoying that she's the only demon I can't kill... but to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else, she has the leash on her. She calls me boss for some odd reason, her claiming it's because I'm her new master, but I don't know a thing about the demon hierarchy for lesser demons like imps," I frowned.

"Uncle Deckard may know more, but the door to the Cathedral's lower levels is in my mother's old house. I can lead you there now that the way there is cleared of zombies," Leah said with a small smile.

"Okay, then let's go off. I activated the portal to Old Tristram, so let's go," I said, leading her to the center of town and me warping us to the area of Old Tristram, our group proceeding east and Leah opening a gate for us to go through.

"Adria was my mother but I don't know much about her other than she was a witch. She died when I was very young," Leah said.

"And your father was the Dark Wanderer, Aiden, right? As in, the man that was possessed by Diablo?" I asked her.

"Yeah... I just learned that myself... at least now I know where this inner power comes from... but I still don't know how to control it," Leah sighed.

"Well, I'm able to control my inner power with ease, so maybe I can show you how to use yours, Leah," I smiled at her.

"I'd like that, but I'd like it if you could save my uncle first," Leah said, me nodding at that as we went further some more until we came to a run-down shack. And when we got in the place, I saw a hatch on the ground.

"Look here, there's a cellar going down. Hawkaw, hop on my back," I said to my imp friend.

"On one condition. I get milk when we're done saving Deckard," Hawkaw frowned.

"Fine, fair enough," I smiled at her, Hawkaw smirking and latching onto my back as I then climbed down the ladder with Leah following suit. And when we reached the bottom, we saw that there were some more zombies and that one of them had the Cathedral key on him.

"That's Captain Boyle! We need to put him out of his..." Leah was about to say before I simply shot a single shot and made all of the zombies' heads explode as they were in a perfectly straight line. "...misery... damn, you're a great shot, much better than I am," Leah admitted to me.

"It's a gift," I smiled as I kissed my crossbow and then picked up the key from the floor while also finding something else on a table. "Look at this, Leah... I think it shows that your mother wasn't the best person," I frowned as I picked up the journal and read the passage it was flipped to. It looked to be the final entry Adria had made.

"Leah was never my daughter. She was Diablo's daughter in truth. I felt blessed to have given the product of my body to my master. He had no interest in me, but in the product of my womb, he found life again. I never flinched when I knew her purpose... daughters are a cheap thing..." Leah read with anger in her voice at the final part. "My mother doesn't even think of me as a daughter... and she says daughters are cheap?! She never even cared about me! So that's why she left me in the care of Gillian! She didn't care about me, she just wanted to rid me from her hands like I were dirt!" Leah exclaimed in anger, me gasping as I had to grab Hawkaw and get us to safety. Why? I could sense it. Her demon powers were starting to emerge. And just like that, just as I put up my blocking stance, Leah exclaimed in fury and a large aura of red flew from her body all over the area, the only things not getting demolished being the book she had in hand and the nearby cauldron, though it did fall over in the process.

I carefully walked over to Leah after she had just used her powers and saw that she was just like I was when I got angry. Her body exuding demonic red aura and her muscles slightly enhanced. I simply put my hands on her shoulders and pulled Leah into a hug, her sighing and letting her powers down while I did something to her, Leah gasping when she felt it.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked when she felt the chill.

"I'm giving you control of your powers. You'll be able to specialize in making magical attacks when I'm finished, much like how I can. It's a process I call 'chilling the fire within'," I smiled as Leah smiled and let the chill over her body, her then gasping as she felt the power envelop her body. And what was her power? Her eyes had turned bright green, her hair became light blue, and I could feel an air of magic all over her. She had become a mage.

"What is this?... I feel... I feel lighter, yet I feel wiser too," Leah gawked as she looked at her hands.

"Your inner passion has turned you into a mage, Leah. Now you can kick ass as good as I can," I smirked at her.

"Awesome!" Leah smirked.

"Indeed. Now let's go find yer uncle," Hawkaw said as she hopped on my back and we went up the ladder to the shack again, us seeing that the door that led to the Cathedral was being broken down by more zombies. Leah gasped and pointed her finger at them, her surprise very obvious when she shot a laser of pure magical energy at them with no ill effects! And it managed to freeze the zombies solid!

"What is that?" Leah asked after using it.

"Ray of Frost, one of the coldest abilities a mage can learn," I smirked with a wink, Leah laughing at that while Hawkaw lost it and laughed super hard.

"Good one, bawss! HAHA!" Hawkaw snorted with her laughs while Leah looked at me with a smile.

"Let's go save my uncle," Leah said.


	3. Skeletons and Zombies Oh Joy

**Chapter 3**

When we got to the Cathedral, we proceeded down the first flight of stairs and found that there were some more zombies here, but as for numbers, there were dozens more skeletons that were animated for some reason, which worried Leah more than anything.

"The skeletons are alive?! T-Then that means... the Skeleton King is REAL?!" Leah asked in shock, me then looking at the skeletal soldiers and seeing their minds. They were, in fact, being controlled by the fallen King Leoric.

"He's as real as the Wretched Mothers, Leah. The Fallen Star must've had something to do with all of this... let's go on... wait, what the fuck are those?" I asked when we came across a trio of disturbing monsters. One was a strange bat with a single eye that could turn into a mouth, the other a giant nest filled with these bats, and a large and fat monster that had stitching all over him.

"Those must be the Carrion Bats that Deckard has been studying... but that nest... it smells foul," Leah gulped as she then sent a blast of magic at it, which I saw this one was fire-based. Disintegrate. And when it connected, the nest actually shrieked as the bats died inside of it while I shot the fat zombie right through the torso, which would turn into disgust for me and absolute terror for Hawkaw as the beast exploded and tons of slithering eels emerged from inside and tried to chase us, Hawkaw retreating as far as the leash could allow, me eliminating the eels with some attacks of my own, which included vials of holy water and small bombs, the eels dying as quickly as the fat bastard they came from.

"A-Are the slithers gone?" Hawkaw asked with a shiver.

"Yes, they are," Leah said as we then moved forward some more and we saw the staircase that went downstairs. And when we did, we gasped as we saw an old man emerge from a door and barely making it across it before it broke apart.

"Back beasts! BACK!" he said in fear as we then saw a spirit appear from behind him. "King Leoric..." the old man gawked as I looked at Leah and she nodded. It was her uncle.

"The Fallen Star awakened me! Now I will make all of you suffer as I have suffered! Guards! Bring me his BONES!" Leoric exclaimed as he then disappeared in a puff of smoke, five different skeletons and a general skeleton emerging and closing in on Deckard. But before they could get within 10 feet of him?

"LEAVE MY UNCLE ALONE!" Leah exclaimed as she then shot a blast of magic that I gawked at. Multiple purple bombs that exploded on impact with either the skeletons or the ground! It was Arcane Torrent, one of the hardest spells to master for any mage!

"L-Leah?... What has happened?" Deckard asked as we then proceeded down the stairs and, upon seeing Hawkaw, he held up his staff.

"Easy, Mister Cain. This imp is harmless. I can vouch for her," I said to him, Deckard only then seeing the leash I had on her neck.

"Okay... can you explain what happened, Leah?" Cain asked.

"This is Hawkaw the imp and Mandie the Demon Slayer... Mandie helped me gain control of my powers... but I have a question for you, Uncle... did you know that I was the daughter of Diablo and a witch?" Leah asked, Deckard gasping before hanging his head and sighing.

"Yes... I have known ever since I first looked in your eyes..." Deckard said with a frown.

"Um... hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this Cathedral is a danger zone. We can continue talking back in town, okay?" I said with seriousness, itching my nose with the wooden part of my crossbow.

"Right... we'll continue discussions back in New Tristram. Follow me, this will lead us to the cemetery and to a Horadrim Warp Circle," Cain said as he pushed on a book on one of the shelves and it revealed a secret passage, us going into it and following him. "We must discuss matters... follow me to Tristram." We then entered the circle and warped back to town in a flash, Deckard leading us to his house so we could have privacy.

"Okay, uncle... I just have to ask... why didn't you ever tell me about my past? I'm not mad or anything, just want to know," Leah said with a sigh.

"I didn't tell you for fear it would make your mind susceptible to corruption from Diablo's essence within you. You were no older than 9 when I took you in, so imagine if you lived most of your teenage years with the fear that you may be used to resurrect the Lord of Terror... I had to keep it secret... but now you are an adult now. And I can see from your friend Mandie here that she is also of demon blood, but she has helped you gain control like she has," Deckard said.

"That I did. So you know, I'm a Demon Huntress by trade, and as for Hawkaw here? Well, just watch this," I frowned as I took a dagger and tried to stick it through her skull, the little imp's head absorbing the blow and denting the blade completely.

"Heh. Still got it," Hawkaw smiled.

"So... she's impervious to any and all damage? No wonder you decided to keep a watchful eye on her," Deckard said.

"Yeah... about that... she says I'm her boss and she refuses to leave my side, even with the leash around her neck, unless there happen to be eels or snakes around. I killed her parents in front of her, but Hawkaw has been with me and hasn't turned on me yet even though I did that... do you know as to why?" I asked him.

"Hmm... I have a theory about how demonic hierarchies work. When a person of demon blood kills another demon, all of their offspring will flock to the stronger demon. In this case, as you are half demon, this young imp decided to follow you instead," Deckard said.

"Eh... somethin' like dat. Also cuz da bawss gives me tasty food... wait... you promised me milk, bawss! I want it now!" Hawkaw pouted at me, me frowning and looking at Leah with a frown. Normally I wouldn't trust Hawkaw off her leash, but I simply unhooked that part off of my body and gave the leash to Leah. "You can take care of her getting some milk from the tavern, right? She can still be choked out, so do that if she gets ornery," I frowned at her.

"Okay, that much I can handle," Leah said, Hawkaw smirking at that as Leah then had to lead the troublesome demon out of the house.

"By the way, obviously the Skeleton King is going to be my biggest hurdle in trying to reach the Fallen Star in the cathedral. So tell me, how am I supposed to harm him if he is nothing but a phantasm? I can harm regular ghosts no problem, but one as powerful as King Leoric is beyond my power to defeat," I said to Deckard.

Deckard mulled it over for a bit and then his face lit up with an idea. "Talk to the blacksmith, Haedrig Eamon. He knows of the location of the Skeleton King's crown. Only by placing the crown atop the dead king's remains will his soul be fused back with his body. Only then can you finally put him to rest," Cain said to me.

"Okay, the blacksmith. Any ideas where he could be?" I asked.

"Ask around town. I haven't been back since the Fallen Star," Cain said, me face-palming at that and proceeding out of the house, asking a couple different villagers until I got led to a large burly man with a black beard, wearing blacksmith garb, and having a hammer in hand.

"Excuse me, are you Haedrig the blacksmith? I need to know the location of Leoric's crown," I asked him, the man sighing at that.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help ya right now. I got other things to worry about... we're keepin' the bitten villagers in this cellar down here, and I'm the one they told to put them at rest... but my love, Mira... how can I ever think to kill me own wife?" Haedrig asked with a frown.

"How long have their injuries lasted?" I asked him.

"In about 5 minutes, it'll be an hour exactly for almost all of them," Haedrig said.

"Then let me proceed down there. I know the secret to preserve someone's life if they are turning. I have to slice their heads off as they turn, but it has to be quick. I can only do so in the 3 second window it takes for them to turn completely. I'll need to ask for your assistance when doing this. We may be able to save all of them if we act quick enough," I said to him.

"Understood. If you think it'll work-" Haedrig said before I cut him off.

"It has worked. Did it to some injured at the inn about 14 minutes ago," I said.

"Okay, then let's go," Haedrig said as he led me to the cellar and we went down it, me breaking down the door and seeing that the wounded were there and they were actually just now starting to change, me acting fast as I acted a special technique. I slowed down time for everyone but myself and my bullets, me rushing across the room and firing my shots precisely at all of the wounded's necks, making sure not to hit Haedrig as I managed to get all of them until I saw a lone woman in the very back, her looking to not have gone through the process just yet. I then decided to end the time disruption and Haedrig gasped at what he saw and all the blood that was spilled, before rushing after me carefully so as not to crush the heads of the turned.

"Mira... my love... forgive me," Haedrig said, me holding his hand in place. She hadn't started turning yet.

"Uuugghgh... Haedrig... guh... help me..." the woman said, me only then seeing she was about to turn. And into a Wretched Mother no less! I immediately sliced her head off with a single shot through the neck and Mira gasped as she then breathed in and out and then looked around where she was right now, which was on the ground with her head all that remained.

"What... what just happened?... I... I'm not... dead... I thought for sure that'd be the end of me... Haedrig..." Mira gawked as Haedrig then picked up his poor wife and gawked.

"I thought I'd lost you too, love..." Haedrig said when Mira finally realized that she was just a head now.

"So... why am I only a head now?" she asked.

"Apologies, miss... and to all you others in this cellar. But it was the only way I could prevent you from turning into flesh eaters yourselves. But the bright side, now you'll be unable to die by any means until a 100 year limit is up. At least now you know you have a set time," I said to them, the others gawking at that and Haedrig to smile at me.

"Yer a miracle worker, ya are, lass. Tell me, what's yer name?" Haedrig smiled at me.

"Name's Mandie. And before you ask why I'm named something like that, my mother was a succubus, one that I had to kill by my own hands. And I'm going to be the one to find out what exactly this Fallen Star is so that no more monsters rise up from it. Now can you tell me where the Skeleton King's crown is? It's kinda urgent, because his spirit is back and at 'em and guarding the way to the star," I said, Haedrig frowning at that.

"I can help ya there. It's buried with the chancellor, my granddad. You'll find his tomb in the Weeping Hollow past the northern gate of town. And if ya happen to see me fool apprentice out there, tell him to get back to town, right?" Haedrig asked.

"Of course. By the way... about the others, you may need to get them some helpers so they can get from place to place," I said to Haedrig.

"I'll alert their families effective immediately. If ya find the crown, bring it to me in case it needs repairs," Haedrig said.

"Sure thing," I smiled as Mira looked at me with a kind smile.

"I thank you for saving our love, miss Mandie," Mira smiled at me.

"Not only that, but I'm gonna save your entire town. Just watch me work," I smiled as I then made my way out of the cellar and I saw that Leah was with Hawkaw and the little imp was guzzling down a large pitcher of milk.

"Hey there," I smiled at her.

"Your imp friend here... she loves milk and refused to leave until she had a pitcher for the road. And when I asked her why, she said because she was hungry... why?" Leah asked with confusion.

"She's still technically a child in demon years, and she requires milk to survive, much like a mother feeding her child, you know... but enough about demon genetics, you want to help me find the crown of the Skeleton King in the graveyard?" I smiled at her.

"Might as well. Besides, I need to learn how to control my powers better. And you can help with that," Leah smiled. I nodded my head as we went to the northern gates and Leah unlocked them for me.

"Time to begin the slaughter," I smiled.


	4. A Crown and Gearing Up for Battle

**Chapter 4**

Leah and I proceeded into the Weeping Hollow and immediately saw that this area also had undead through it as well as annoying burying versions of the scavengers. They dug underground and then tried to grab onto us from under our feet, but we learned their tricks quite easily and started to blow apart whole parts of the ground every time they did this while also killing more carrion bats and undead, making sure we left none of them still up and at 'em and that all their heads were blown apart. And then we found a single body on the ground that was still alive, but on the verge of death.

"Who are you? Do you know Haedrig?" I asked him.

"I'm... his... apprentice... guh... I'm almost done with this world... tell my master... I'm sorry... I tried... to stop the zombies... I failed... those damn bats... ate my back out..." he coughed up blood, Leah looking under him and gagging when she saw that there was a bat currently eating his insides, which she killed with a single arrow.

"Just let go, son. You'll be in Heaven soon," I said to him as I closed his eyes with my gloved hands. After all, I was of demon blood, so if I even so much as put a finger on him, he'd be tainted by hell and refused access to heavenly afterlife. The apprentice smiled as he then breathed out his last breath and the life left him, Leah sighing and producing tears while Hawkaw finished drinking her milk and then burped loudly and VERY rudely. I then swiftly smack her head with my hand and she groaned at that.

"Oi! What was dat for, bawss?!" Hawkaw groaned angrily.

"You burped loudly right after this young man passed away. I don't know what kind of things you have seen, but seriously, have some respect for the fucking dead," I frowned at her as I then tugged at her leash and we went forward more to the cemetery, the gate wide open and us seeing that there were more skeletons here as well as some small spirits with shovels on them. And Leah looked impressed how I managed to wipe out the ghosts with my powered-up arrows.

"So, if you can attack ghosts, then why not Leoric?" Leah asked.

"Because there is a huge difference in power between regular ghosts and the power that Leoric possesses. He is part undead skeleton, part ghost, and part demon because of his mind being heavily corrupted by Diablo. He's got power up the whazoo right now, and I can't even hope to scratch a ghost of that kind of power. But regular ghosts and medium-powered ones are able to be killed by demonic powers. Someone with Leoric's powers, though? Way outta my league and even yours," I said to Leah.

"Understood. Which crypt should we enter?" Leah asked, Hawkaw sniffing at the air and then pointing to the crypt near the northern gate.

"I smell Diawblo in dis one. Faintly, but I smell 'im. Dis is da crypt," Hawkaw said.

"How is she able to smell Diablo's essence so acutely?" Leah asked.

"Hawkaw's parents? Yeah, they were close followers of Diablo and had his scent all over them, even after his death. So she's got quite the nose for tracking down anything related to the Lord of Terror, which is how she was able to smell you were of his bloodline when we first met," I explained as we entered the crypt and, again, we came across many more skeletons and ghosts, but also some more fat zombies filled with eels, which Hawkaw had to hide from again. She could handle a lot of things, but she drew the line with anything that had no limbs. She was afraid of snakes, eels, fish, and even a type of demon called the Deceiver. What were Deceivers? Followers of Belial, Lord of Lies, that could change their appearance and fool people into thinking they were friendlies before killing them ruthlessly.

We finally made it to a lower level and when we entered, we came across a door that was barred shut... before a giant monster smashed through it. And what did it look like? Absolutely hideous! It was made completely of fused-together corpses and dirt. "An Unburied... Deckard told me about how these things are made from the remains of mass graves that gain consciousness..." Leah gawked, but she stopped speaking around the time I shot the monster to bits. How? I ripped off its arms and legs with one bullet each before sending a final one right through its torso, the beast falling and decaying into nothing but ash.

"Nice explanation, but not able to stand up to my powers. Now let's go get that crown," I smirked, our trio rushing into the crypt and seeing some more skeletons as well as special skeletons I'd never seen before. Ones that specialized in resurrection magics, which they used to bring back the dead skeletons back to life until we took them out, which is what got another creature to wake up. It was a ghost that was protecting the crown.

"No! I won't allow you to bring back the dreaded Skeleton King!" the ghost said, me deciding something different.

"Pardon, sir, but are you the chancellor?" I asked, the ghost looking to be confused.

"Yes... uh, that is I. Please leave, I do not wish to hurt you, but I will if I have to," the ghost said, Leah looking at me in confusion.

"You may not know this, chancellor, but the Skeleton King has been resurrected as a phantasm. The only way we can rid him and the undead horde from Tristram is by binding the spirit to his body and taking him out after. Trust me, I speak the truth from a man named Deckard Cain," I said, the chancellor gawked.

"As in, the last of the Horadrim? And you say you can defeat the Skeleton King in battle? How would that be the case?" the chancellor asked.

"Watch this," I smiled as I sent a flurry of blasts from my arrows at a nearby pillar and completely pulverized it into nothing but dust, the chancellor gawking at that.

"I entrust you with the crown of the Skeleton King, brave heroine... and take this with you, a treasure only held by the slayer of Diablo, Aiden. It is a portal that will return the holder and all allies around them to the nearest safe settlement they choose. It is called the Town Portal. Use it wisely," the chancellor spoke as I then felt the spirit leave us and felt its presence... almost everywhere. I then took the crown off its pedestal and the item in question, seeing that it was a ring that, when I rubbed the gem on it, I gasped as Leah, myself, and Hawkaw all returned back to the town and we saw a strange blue portal behind us.

"Um... is this safe?" I asked as I looked at the portal.

"If I remember correctly, it was said that the Town Portal is only able to be used by the holder and any they view as allies. If one the person doesn't consider a friend touches the portal, they get zapped immediately, almost like static electricity, but 100 times worse," I heard Haedrig say from nearby, me seeing that he was at a workshop right by the Horadrim warp circle. And who was hanging from his neck via a special necklace?

"I see you found a way to stay together, Mira," I smiled, Leah gasping when she saw that.

"Oh my god... even Mira got bit... how many others?" Leah asked me.

"Roughly 30 others if you include the ones I saved at the Inn. I saved them the same way I did before. All the require is someone to take care of them," I smiled.

"She's right. She saved my Mira from turning into one of those horrid Wretched Mothers. By the way, did ya find me apprentice out there?" Haedrig asked.

I sighed and nodded my head. "I'm sorry, Haedrig... he tried to defend the town from the undead, but the carrion bats got him... his entire back was eaten out. His last words were that he was sorry... sorry for not being able to fend off the zombies," I said, Haedrig sighing and looking downwards.

"Ugh... I always knew that he was one of them hero types. But couldn't tell a sword from a broomstick, though. Unsurprising he couldn't do the task... but it still pains me... ya got the crown at least, I hope," Haedrig sighed.

"That we did... oop... looks like it has a bit of a nick here and there," I frowned as I saw some of the points at the top were dented.

"I'll work on it," Haedrig said as he went to his bench and began to work on it. "Its good to work again..." he started hammering and fixing the crown bit by bit until it then glowed with a red radiance. "There, new as the day it was placed upon the Black King's head. I need somethin' more than makin' spades for a livin'. I want me life to mean somethin'," Haedrig said.

"Then maybe you could craft some armor and weapons for myself, Leah, and Hawkaw here? We could use an upgrade if we were to go after the Skeleton King," I said.

"Hmm... givin' am imp a sword don't sound like the smartest thing in the world, don't it?" Haedrig asked.

"We can vouch for her. She's a good girl. And if she misbehaves... no milk," I smiled the last bit in Hawkaw's ear, her gasping and nodding immediately afterwards.

"Heh, musta scared her good. Okay, I think I could make you some weapons and armor," Haedrig smirked as I then provided him with the materials needed and he began to craft different weapons for all of us to use. He made me some upgraded crossbows that had gem holes in them, which I then placed a super cool scarab-looking gem in the left one and a flawless royal topaz in the right.. And as for equipment, I got a super sturdy helmet that I placed a flawless royal emerald in it and I got a pair of boots that I could feel tons of power in.

Meanwhile, Hawkaw got a smaller helmet of mine, a shield as big as her body that she wielded without issue, and a sword that looked to be coated in tons of spikes all over it, including the sides and even the tip had five points rather than one. And as for Leah, she got a helmet that covered her face while also having a flap to show it, a powerful staff that I could tell had very strange magic to it, armor that actually made her look cute, yet battle-ready at the same time (imagine a flowing skirt of iron, a bodice of platinum, and gauntlets of silver), and a ring that had a gem slot in it, one that I knew the perfect gem for.

I handed Leah a small gem that she looked confused by, but I smiled as I explained it to her. "This is a gem that my mother had on her that I rightfully got back after In slew her. It is a gem that she once stole from a greedy baroness before killing her. It is called the Boon of the Hoarder. Having it pocketed into a ring will make it so that every enemy has a 1 in 4 chance of exploding and turning into heaps of gold, which will then automatically enter the gem. And the gem can store an infinite amount of money before it knows you're making a purchase, which it will provide the gold required automatically," I smiled, Leah gawking at that.

"So, in lesser terms, having this gem means I'm gonna be rich soon?" Leah smirked.

"Quite possibly, yes. But what's even better, since I have upgraded its efficiency as best as I can, I discovered something else incredible about it. If it collects gold at any given time, it'll give you and your allies a speed boost for up to 5 seconds!" I smirked, Leah smiling at this.

"I know that money is the root of all evil, so how about we just use the money when we need to and not for anything we may regret? And we can always use the speed boost," Leah smiled.

"That we can," I smirked back at her as Hawkaw held her sword up high and smiled at it.

"Dis is gon' be fun," she smiled.

"Remember our rule, Hawkaw," I frowned at her.

"I know, I know, bawss. No hurtin' friendlies, I know," Hawkaw grumbled as I then led Leah and myself to the warp circle, us going to the portal that led to the cemetery outside of the cathedral before we entered through the secret passage and we arrived at the door that led to the lower levels. And upon sensing we had the crown, the door slid open with a thundering boom, me and the others smiling at this.

"Let's go smash some bones," I smiled.

"After you," Leah said to me.


	5. Templars and the Succubus Queen

**Chapter 5**

Once our trio proceeded down to the lower levels of the Cathedral, we came across many more skeletons and bloated zombies, which Leah insisted their names were the Grotesques. "Uncle Deckard wrote about these monsters. He called them Grotesque zombies, mostly because not only are they hideous, but because they are filled with eels and leeches," Leah explained.

"I see," I smiled as we continued to the third floor down and, after proceeding down for a bit, we came across something that made us gasp. What looked to be an innocent man was being leeched by a bunch of humans using dark magics! "Oh no you assholes don't!" I exclaimed as I aimed by crossbows carefully and shot each of the guilty humans right through the face, the man being freed from the process and looking to barely be hurt.

"I am free! Thank you!" the man exclaimed as he then helped us take out the rest of the bad eggs until we were alone for a bit. "I am Kormac of the Templar Order!" he introduced himself.

"I'm Mandie. This is my friend Leah... and this mischievous scamp is Hawkaw," I said, Kormac looking at her with animosity before she clung to my leg in fear.

"So why do you have a demon with you and why do you protect her?" Kormac asked.

"It's not so much that I'm protecting her, it's more along the lines of I have to hold a leash on her because she's the only demon I've ever met impervious to any damage. Even a holy weapon has no effect on her. But she protects me as much as I protect her, so yeah... anyways, what were those bad guys in the hooded cloaks doing to you?" I asked him after the explanation.

"They were trying to break me like they did to the traitor Lazarus. He stole some special scrolls from my order and I am to take him out and grab the scrolls back. But before that, we need to get my armor back," Kormac said, me smiling as I could tell that he had tons of power in him.

"On one condition, sir Kormac. You stick with us and we'll make it worth your while," I said to him.

"Well, my services require a fee of sorts. You'll need to give me money for the Templar Order in order to have me join you," Kormac said. Leah smirked and showed off her ring, rubbing it and producing at least a ten thousand units of money, Kormac smirking at that. "That should do you well for roughly a month of service. Very well, you can pay me when the month is up, now let's retrieve my weapons and defeat Lazarus the traitor!"

"After you, sir," Leah smiled, Kormac rushing forward and me covering him as he got to a chest and we had to take out some more baddies, me wondering what they were, other than knowing that they were demon summoners.

"What kind of humans are able to summon demons and be stupid enough to even try it?" I asked angrily.

"They are the cult of a wicked witch named Maghda. Lazarus only recently joined their despicable coven after committing treason against the Order," Kormac said, me wondering if he knew more.

"Do you know if Maghda has anyone she follows? Perhaps a powerful demon?" I asked.

"Indeed. She is the servant of Belial, the Lord of Lies," Kormac said, my nose stiffening at that name as he put on his armor, shield, and large sword.

"That bastard... the succubus that gave birth to me was one of his followers. Now I can finally take him out, just need to know where he is... not gonna be easy, though, as he's a master of deceit and illusionary magic," I frowned angrily, Kormac looking at me in confusion.

"You say your mother was a demon? So you are half-demon I take it?" Kormac asked.

"Not just her. I am too. But I hate that I'm the daughter of someone as horrible as Diablo," Leah frowned as she took her anger out at some more cultists as they were blocking our path to further down the cathedral before we came across someone who was clad in armor similar to Kormac's, but completely black as opposed to his shiny silver.

"You are going to pay for your treachery, Lazarus!" Kormac exclaimed as I simply noticed something else. I halted him as I sniffed the air well and good.

"Demoness, show yourself now and let this man go from your influence!" I exclaimed, knowing there was someone pulling the strings here.

"I apologize, demon slayer, but if I did that, I'd be killed the next time I see Maghda!" said a female voice, me growling at it as I tried to see where it is.

"Show yourself right now! I can smell you here!" I growled, Leah frowning and sniffing the air as I did, her gasping at something I couldn't recognize.

"Um... I-I don't know what the hell this smell is... it smells almost like... like me! Who are you?! Tell me your name!" Leah exclaimed angrily.

"Hmph. I can at least tell you that. My name is Lilith, the Succubus Queen. And who might you be?" the demoness smiled with a sadistic chuckle.

When she said that, I gasped and looked at Leah. "Um.. Leah... you're right when you say she smells like you. Lilith is technically your cousin," I said, her and Lilith gasping at that as she finally revealed herself.

"What are you talking about?! This simple human?... Wait..." Lilith gulped as she then sniffed Leah's arm, Leah looking worried before Lilith then gasped. "It's true... you are my uncle's daughter... what to do..." Lilith gulped as she looked a bit perplexed.

"Um... maybe stick by your family?" Leah offered.

"And what would that entail?" Lilith asked.

"As in, you help us and we'll protect you as much as we can. I mean, that's why I'm protecting Hawkaw after all," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, da bawss'll keep ya safe! She's supah strong!" Hawkaw smiled with enthusiasm.

"Hmm... very well. I shall release Lazarus from his spell... and so you know, Kormac, was it? He learned the horrid truth about your order because of those scrolls," Lilith said as she let Lazarus free from his mind-control and Lazarus fell to the ground and looked incredibly drained as Kormac approached Lazarus with a frown.

"Forgive me, Kormac... the scrolls... they made me see everything... the Order placed false sins upon me. Upon you! All you have to do is say what is on this specific scroll and you will learn what I have... and why I needed to take them in the first place. Please, believe me," Lazarus said with weariness as he produced one scroll for Kormac, him looking at him with a frown and then looking at Lilith.

"You think I'm still controlling him? Peh, he's being completely truthful in his words, oh mighty Templar. He stole those stupid papers so he could expose the truth about the Templar Order. They place false sins upon the undeserving and then brutally beat them into forgetting everything. Only by speaking the words on that scroll in the order they are written will you remember your entire past," Lilith said with a smile.

Kormac frowned and took the scrolls for himself, Lazarus gasping, mostly for one reason. I knew well enough that traitors to the Templar Order were to be killed on the spot, so Kormac was also being a traitor now as he looked at the scroll and began to speak the words. "What the hell?... 'Free... Lancer... Protect... Memories'... Oh GOD! No! NO!" Kormac exclaimed as he dropped the scroll and I rushed in to help him up.

"Kormac, take it easy," I said as I helped him up.

"I was a soldier for the majesty of Westmarch! The Order... they lied to me! They imprisoned me! Placing false sins upon me and stripping me of everything!..." Kormac gasped as I looked at Lazarus with a frown.

"So what are we going to do with you?" I asked him.

"P-Please... let me live," Lazarus pleaded for his life. I sighed and looked at him with a frown.

"Then allow me to do this to you in the meantime," I said as I placed my fingers on his face and he gasped as I then took the demonic essence that Lilith had used to manipulate him with, Lilith looking at me in awe as Lazarus then gasped and sighed in and out heavily. "Now I suggest you regain your senses, leave this cathedral, and get the hell out of these lands," I said to him.

"Yes, yes, I shall!... Just... I need to catch my breath.." Lazarus said with a pant, me looking at Kormac and him already having gone to the nearby stairs and seeing that there were black magic spikes there.

"No match for me!" Kormac said as he used his own powers and broke apart all of the different spikes.

"Now if we're done stallin', I say we find dat Skeleton King an' smash his face in!" Hawkaw exclaimed.

"Agreed. I trust you to keep me safe, cousin," Lilith said to Lilith. Leah smiled back and nodded at Lilith, me knowing that Deckard Cain would be confused and flabbergasted that the demoness that stole the Worldstone and created Sanctuary was now joining our cause.


	6. Skeleton King and the Angelic Stranger

**Chapter 6**

When we got down to the final levels of the Cathedral, we saw that the place gained a light blue-green tincture because of us being much closer to the Fallen Star. We continued to go down as Lilith looked to be a bit worried.

"Is something wrong, Lilly?" I asked, her smirking at that nickname before shivering again.

"I-It's just... I feel a presence... not Leoric, no... some kind of presence from... almost like an angel..." Lilith gulped.

"An Angel? You mean like those cloaked guys I keep seeing in my nightmares?" Leah asked, me nodding at her.

"Correct, Leah. I've had those nightmares too. The Angels are the Yin and the Demons are the Yang. The Angels fight to defeat all demons, the Demons fight to kill all Angels and anything they have a hand in. And sadly, that includes us, as we were created by little miss succubus here ages ago," I said, Lilith looking at me with a frown and about to say something before she shivered heavily again, her teeth literally chattering.

"So Lilith is not only my cousin... but also a distant aunt? That sounds... very weird," Leah frowned.

"You're telling me," Kormac groaned, him still a bit hurt at the fact that he found out the horrid truth about his Order.

"Listen, Kormac, I don't know if it'd make you feel any better, but when we're done with all of our adventures, we'd be more than happy to help you exact your revenge on the Templar Order for doing these crimes to you, Lazarus, and everyone the Templar Order has hurt," I said to him.

"I appreciate your concerns, Mandie... by the way, fitting name for being a Demon Slayer," Kormac smiled at me.

"I like my name too. But I hate the one who named me. She killed my fully human sister right in front of me on my 13th birthday, which is when I finally killed her and became a Demon Slayer. And once I kill Belial, I know my little sister will be happy on the other side," I said with a small smile.

"You mean your own mother killed your sister? How old was she?" Lilith asked.

"She wasn't barely pushing past 5 years old. She was still a toddler, so innocent, and my mother killed her, thinking that I would join with her because of me being of Demon heritage. But it backfired in her face when I let loose my inner fury for the very first time, making her body explode into nothing but blood and guts with just a single touch of my fingers," I said.

"A single touch and you can make someone explode?! Remind me that, if you find any potential suitors, I need to warn them big time not to make you mad," Leah said to me with a smile.

"No, I'd never harm any human unless they are filled with evil intent. Those cultists were filled with evil intent. Someone I'd like to have sex with? I'd feel no animosity towards them at all. And anyone I consider a friend? Like you, Hawkaw, or Deckard Cain? I'd defend you with my life," I said with a smile.

"D'aww! I'm touched, bawss!" Hawkaw smiled at me, me simply rubbing her scalp with my hand as we came across a room that had four pillars that I could sense were imbued with spiritual energy. And then, the ghost of the Skeleton King appeared before us.

"Leave this place right now! Or I shall grind your bones to dust!" Leoric exclaimed at me, me simply spitting at his visage in defiance.

"Says the one who fucking murdered his own wife while your trusted servant killed your son!" I exclaimed angrily at him.

"You know fucking nothing, bitch! NOW DIE!" Leoric exclaimed as he forced the pillars to turn on and he then retreated, me simply making each of them explode with one bullet each, Leah smirking at my skills.

"Not even a challenge. Can nothing be able to match my might?" I smiled widely as we then proceeded through the door to Leoric's throne room and he destroyed the bridge leading there.

"YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME!" Leoric exclaimed again before disappearing and sending more skeletons at me.

"He talks big, then runs away. What a baby," Lilith smirked.

"Agreed," Leah giggled back as we then took out the skeletons he summoned until I burst through the locked gates with another bullet, our group closing the distance to a much larger skeleton that sat on the throne. It was Leoric. "I'll put the crown on his head, you blow him to kingdom come," Leah said.

"Nah, let's do the opposite. I want to see what kind of power you have, Leah," I smiled as I took the crown from her grasp and put it on Leoric's head, me jumping away as the spirit then fused itself with the body and the Skeleton King stood up after grabbing his massive claymore. "Let 'er rip!" I yelled, Leah then focusing and letting loose a large Disintegration Ray right at Leoric, slicing right through his body and actually making it turn into nothing but dust, the spirit then moving onto the afterlife, most likely to hell.

"Okay, now that Leoric is gone, nothing is stopping us from going to the Fallen Star," I said as we went forward some more and we finally reached it. The source of the Undead hordes. The Fallen Star... and it was... a man. A man of dark brown skin, ragged robes, and him looking quite weak.

"What the hell... the Fallen Star is.. a person?" Leah asked in shock.

"Tell me, who are you?" I asked him, wondering who he was.

"I... I can't remember... I know I fell... but nothing else..." the man said with a shiver, me giving him a spare blanket and him covering himself up with it. He was cold to the touch, so he'd been here for awhile in the cold.

"Let's get you back to New Tristram... and Lilith? Try not to draw any unwanted attention, please?" I asked her.

"But of course... though I should say this now... remember when I said I felt an Angel's presence?... This is that Angel..." she said, me gasping at that. This man looked nothing like the robed angels in my dreams. And just by sensing him, I sensed that he had no demonic blood in him at all, so he couldn't have been a human.

"You're right... he's an Angel. No demon blood in him at all... come on, sir, there's a warp circle up ahead," I said to him as Kormac and I helped him to the circle and the others joined me in warping back to town, Lilith's arrival shocking everyone until she sighed and shook her head.

"Hey, Deckard? Mister Deckard?" I asked, getting him singled out from the crowd and Lilith simply sitting on the ground with a smile.

"Is that the demoness Lilith? What in the world is she doing here?" Deckard asked in shock.

"Easy, Uncle. Technically, she's family. She's going to be protected by us like Hawkaw here... but if she does happen to do anything naughty," Leah smiled, Lilith looking at me with a smile.

"Then this will happen to you," I said as I simply shot a raven flying in the air and made him explode, his blood falling directly onto Lilith and her gulping at that.

"And what of this other man you have with you?" Deckard asked.

"This man... Lilith says he's an Angel... and he was at the area that was most affected by the Fallen Star at the bottom of the Cathedral's depths. I think that he himself IS the Fallen Star. An Angel from on high," I said, Deckard gasping at that.

"Do you remember anything at all, stranger?" Deckard asked.

"I... I remember one thing... there was a sword. A sword of great power... it was a part of me... but I felt it break into three pieces..." the man said with a shiver.

"It is vital we find these pieces of the sword. It may be the key to restoring your memories and your powers," Deckard said, Leah then gasping at something.

"You know... the Goatmen of the Fields of Misery-" Leah said before I cut her off.

"Khazra," I corrected her.

"Fine. The Khazra have been attacking any villagers that move out of town. Ever since the undead have been completely eliminated, there have been increasing numbers of Khazra attacks on the villagers. You think a sword piece may have landed somewhere there?" Leah asked.

"You may be right about that, Leah! Just as the dead rose around this Angel, the sword piece must've driven the Khazra to madness! I shall stay here with the Angel and protect him from any danger," Deckard said.

"I'll protect him too. Don't worry, I'll protect him with my life," Leah said.

"Okay then. Lilith, Hawkaw, Kormac, come on, time to go to work," I smiled as I then went to the the circle and went inside of it, our group appearing in the cemetery. I then saw the gate was open and I led the charge to the Fields of Misery. "Let's get wild," I smiled.


	7. Sword Pieces and Three Nephalem

**Chapter 7**

Upon entering the Fields of Misery, we had to rely on mine and Hawkaw's noses in order to find the sword that belonged to the angel. "Hmm... I smell angel stuff to da west... incredibly bitter to me nose," Hawkaw groaned at that.

"Same here, Hawkaw," I frowned at her as we proceeded towards the west, Lilith and Kormac following with intent in their eyes as we had to slay some Khazra as well as take out some enemies we didn't expect. What were they? GIANT LIVING TREES! Of course, they stood no chance against my arrows and Lilith's powerful magic, which was tons of hellfire and explosions in case you didn't know.

We finally came across the den for the Khazra and proceeded inwards, defeating a lot of crazed goat people as well as some stray spiders in the process. When we entered the second level, however? We came across something odd. There were more cultists and some of them were trying to use some strange ritual on what looked to be a part of the sword. The hilt with a few inches of blade on it. "They must be with the witch's coven!" Kormac exclaimed.

"We must hurry with the ritual! Maghda will be here-" one of the cultists said, the name immediately making Lilith make them all explode all at the same time, me then grabbing the sword piece. And just in time to see a tall woman appear as a deceptive visage. She reeked of Belial's scent, that much was a fact.

"You must be Maghda," I growled angrily at her.

"Who are you to claim what is rightfully mine?" Maghda asked with a glare.

"Last I checked, Angel weapons aren't meant to belong to demons. And that includes those that serve them, ugly hag," I frowned at her, Maghda growling at this before then noticing Lilith by my side.

"What are you doing on this bitch's side, Lilith? We had an agreement, did we not?" Maghda asked. I simply used a special technique on Lilith that I knew would protect her. An invisible barrier of hellfire.

"If you recall, Maghda, I only joined you because you claimed Belial would rule the world. But he has yet to even attempt leaving that stupid desert city. Besides, this girl is going to protect me far better than you ever could," Lilith said with a growl.

"Let's see about that," Maghda smirked as I saw her visage try to use a Disintegrate spell on her... and failed miserably as it got rebounded and it sliced into the nearby rock wall and made it cave in slightly. "Hmph. Fine, I guess you are protected. But you will never get the next piece! It has fallen where only the ancients may tread!" Maghda said, me simply smirking and laughing at that, Maghda wondering what it was about.

"Oh god! You are such a stupid idiot! You just told us the location! Oh, rich!" I laughed, Maghda gasping at that before promptly slapping herself in the face and letting her visage leave us.

"Hehe, yeah, that was pretty funny," Kormac smirked.

"But now she knows we're onto her plan," Lilith frowned.

"Aww, phooey! Da bawss can handle fifteen witches all at once without breakin' a sweat!" Hawkaw smirked.

"She ain't lying. I literally did do that once, and she was a witness," I smiled widely as I then used the Town Portal to warp us back to New Tristram with the sword hilt in hand. We then approached Leah and Cain and we saw the stranger looked better, but still a bit weary.

"You seem to be doing better, angel boy... anyways, Mister Deckard, we found a piece of the sword. It was in a Khazra den, but it was being guarded by some cultists that serve under Maghda, a powerful witch," I said, Deckard gawking at that.

"You mean the same Maghda that serves under Belial, right?" Leah asked.

"This could be problematic... stranger, do you know of this coven by chance?" Deckard asked the angel.

"I do not know of this coven. But I do sense a darker force behind it... it could be this Belial that you mentioned, but I am unsure..." the angel said as I gave the sword hilt to Deckard.

"She also told us of the next area with a sword piece. She said it fell where 'only the ancients may tread'. Any ideas as to where that is?" I asked with a smile.

"I know that place. It's the Drowned Temple, a place where the ancient Nephalem people went to prove their worth," Leah gawked.

"Right, Leah. You have been paying attention! Yes, the Nephalem were extremely powerful individuals, but they disappeared after a great war," Cain said.

"Yeah, but my skills will prove great in this area. Leah, you join me on this one. Lilith and Kormac, you stay behind in case the coven decides to attack us while we're away," I said, the duo looking at me with a smile.

"You got it... boss," Lilith smirked.

"Yay! You called 'er bawss too!" Hawkaw smirked as Leah then joined us in the summoning circle and we proceeded back to the cemetery and then to the road that led to the temple, Leah leading the way for us as we then happened upon what looked to be a farm with a scuffle looking like it'd go down between a bunch of bandits with knives, a man in ragged clothes, and a woman that looked like she was beset.

"Give us the jewel, scoundrel, or the girl gets-" the one guy said as he put his knife to the girl's throat, me snapping at that and coming in to blow his face up with one headshot, the other thieves gasping at that and holding their hands up when they saw that.

"I suggest you thugs clear out of here before you end up like your friend here," I frowned at all of them angrily as I simply spat on the ground to get rid of some excess spit. They all immediately looked scared and ran for the hills, Hawkaw scaring them even further with her roaring at them, making them run even faster, me giggling and laughing at that. "Run faster, guys! She's gaining on you!" I laughed, them all rushing faster and straight into a Khazra den, me smirking at that as I then looked at the man and woman left behind.

"Thank you, miss. I thought I was a goner... and for you, my love, I have the jewel. Now we can be together forever and leave my father for good," the woman said, her producing a gem from her frock and holding it out for the man, me wondering what it was as it didn't look very real.

"I hate to be a bother, but I don't think that gem is real," I frowned, me taking it from her grasp and sensing it had no magic in it at all and that it was just everyday glass. "Yep. Just glass. Total fake," I frowned at the duo, the man gasping at that.

"Gods, I should've known it was a fake!... Dammit..." the man groaned at that. "I apologize, love... but I can't marry you now. That gem was going to be for your wedding ring and I don't have much cash to buy one myself," the man frowned, the woman sighing and nodding at that. "Promise me that you'll come back once in awhile, at least? I'd love it if we could be good, close friends, Lyndon, even if we are never to be wed," the woman said with a kind smile.

"I'd love that. Now... about you three. I thank you for rescuing us from those men from the Thieve's Guild," the man said, that part intriguing me as I had heard of it before, mostly because I was raised in the area that contained it.

"And why would the Thieve's Guild of Kingsport be targeting you of all people, especially so far away from their city? I don't want to say it, but I must. Were you a former member?" I asked him, the man smirking and laughing at that.

"Very astute, aren't you, huntress? Yes, I was formerly a member, but I left that place after something bad happened. I'd rather not go into it right now, but they send their assassins after me on a daily basis. This was a close shave, however, most of the time I can escape quite easily," the man said.

"And your name was Lyndon, right? What say you accompany our ragtag group? We could use someone like you on our team, especially since thieves have great uses for lock-picking and stuff like that. Here, I'll even give you one of my spare crossbows," I smiled as I handed him a two handed crossbow and he smiled at that.

"Thank you, friend. I'd feel a lot safer with someone protecting me, so it'd be great if you could help me out. And if any monsters or baddies come our way, point in that direction and I'll not only defeat them, but steal their wallets too," Lyndon smirked.

"Widely appreciated," Leah giggled at the fact he was talking about thieving like it were everyday conversation, our group then proceeding forward to the Drowned Temple, us seeing what looked to be a spirit, me wondering who it was, but sensing he had blood similar to mine, Hawkaw's, and Leah's... what kind of blood though was unclear. He wasn't a demon, but a human, so how would he have Hawkaw's blood type?

"You must be Alaric, Keeper of the Temple, correct? I'd heard stories about you from Uncle Deckard," Leah said to him. He smiled and nodded before turning his ghastly face into a stern frown.

"Are you three females Nephalem?" the man asked, me wondering about that and sighing.

"I don't know, but I sure wish," I said with a smile.

"But I thought the Nephalem were wiped out in the great war?" Leah asked.

"Heh, that's a myth. I can sense it in your blood. It is unclear as to how, but you half demons and even this full-blooded imp are all Nephalem in the flesh," Alaric said, me looking gobsmacked as did Hawkaw and Leah.

"Y-You mean... we're Nephalem?! I'M Nephalem?!" Hawkaw asked in shock. After Alaric nodded his head, she literally jumped for joy with happy squeals and a smile spreading across her entire face.

"Well, at least now I know why you're impenetrable to all damage. That must be your Nephalem trait," I smirked at her as Alaric then looked at us with a smile. "We need a piece of a sword that fell in your temple. What do we do to get in?" I asked him.

"You wish to enter the Drowned Temple, but in order to do so, you'll require two beacons. Follow me to the forest they are kept," Alaric said as he led us to a bridge and let down some kind of barrier to let us enter. "Seek two ruins. The Warrior's Rest, and the Crypt of the Ancients. Though my brothers are fellow Nephalem, they will try to halt your progress during this test. Don't take them lightly," Alaric said.

"Let's do this," I smiled at this worthy challenge.


	8. Maghda's Evil Workings

**Chapter 8**

Finding out that Leah, Hawkaw and I were all Nephalem? That just made our day as we proceeded into the crypts to get the different beacons, us discussing things with each other like we were friends for ages.

"So, Leah, what are you thinking of doing when all this is said and done?" I smiled at her.

"Well, honestly, I think I'd like to open my own Inn. Help wayward travelers like you get food and drink," Leah smiled.

"Sounds nice... I might think of joining you on my days off from hunting demons as a part time worker," I smiled at her.

"Well, when we do get a chance, I'll consider your credentials," Leah smiled, me giggling at that.

"Credentials? Girl, I'm the most powerful woman in the world right now, and the only credential I can think of that isn't 'good at kicking bad guy ass' is that I'm a hit with the kids," I smiled at her.

"Well, you could always be a bouncer or an entertainer. Either or, maybe both," Leah smirked.

"That'd be swell," I giggled, her doing that too since we were just having fun as we got the second beacon and proceeded back to the temple, Lyndon speaking up for a bit.

"So, Leah, was it? Mind telling me how you and your friends can be Nephalem when one of them is literally a demon?" Lyndon asked.

"I dunno, ask Mandie," Leah smiled, me smirking at that and throwing a pebble at her head, which she snickered back at me for.

"I don't know myself... I can only think the reasons to be because of the Worldstone being destroyed at Mount Arreat during the great war between Heaven and Hell between the Archangel Tyraeal and the Demon Baal. So long as the stone was in place, the population of Nephalem were zero. But it's been shattered for a good 30 years now, so I guess we were born Nephalem... as for Hawkaw, I think it may be some kind of bond she made with me to make her a Nephalem. According to Deckard, demons always flock to the stronger of their kind and develop their traits. Hawkaw did that to me after I killed her parents in front of her, which explains why she became completely immune to pain, death, and damage overall when she did so... I tried to blow her head off ten times that day, to no avail... ah, memories," I smirked at that.

"Daw, stop it, bawss! Yer makin' me blush," Hawkaw giggled.

"Kind of weird that you're embarrassed about a story involving Mandie trying to blow your head off," Leah admitted.

"Hey, for demons, that is a happy memory. Most demons are pure evil and will only side with those with similar interests or bloodlines. Hawkaw only joined me because of the hierarchy, and Lilith joined us when she learned you were her cousin... and distant aunt," I said, Leah smirking and flicking my ear for that.

"I'd rather not, Mandie? At least not until we return the sword to the angel?" Leah smirked.

"Fine, fair enough," I giggled as Lyndon looked at us with a smile.

"Well, you girls are sure fun to be around," Lyndon smiled.

"Trust me, we're more fun than a barrel of monkeys and more deadly than a meteor shower," I smirked as we finally got back to the temple and I placed the beacons in their recesses, the temple doors opening and a large bridge of stone being made from magic.

"Enter, and prove yourself worthy of entering the Inner Sanctum by defeating our greatest warriors in battle," Alaric said, us nodding and proceeding through, going across a bridge that we had to rush across the place with haste as the wooden bridge started to give way from decay.

"Well, we'll need a town portal trip after getting the next piece," I said as we went onward and saw another Nephalem spirit with a large poleaxe.

"NONE may enter the Sanctum!" he exclaimed, Hawkaw rushing forward and slicing into the spirit with her claws, me smirking at how she managed to do enough damage to it that I could feel him leave... but not before he did something else. "Rise, my brothers! Rise... and do battle..." he groaned as he opened three more doors, a trio of Nephalem spirits emerging from them. One had a spear, one had a wand, and another had a giant mallet.

"May I?" Leah smiled as her wrists crackled with Arcane Torrent.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't," I smirked at her, Leah then sending forth the torrent and getting rid of two of them while I finished the final one with a single headshot, us meeting with Alaric by a door further down.

"Your strength is far greater than even our finest warriors. The Nephalem have returned unto us... you may now enter the Inner Sanctum to claim your sword piece," Alaric said, me seeing that the door lowered and the sword piece that awaited us was the sheathe of the sword.

"The noble hero fought her whole way here, just to die a horrible death," said the voice of Maghda as she appeared via illusionary magic in front of us.

"Bite your tongue, wench," I frowned at her.

"And who is this? Is that Leah, the daughter of the witch Adria? Don't worry. Your mother will soon share your fate little one," Maghda said, Leah gasping at those words.

"No... NO! My mother can't be alive! I refuse to believe you!" Leah exclaimed as she let loose her power and Maghda gasped as she appeared before us, her shock obvious at that.

"Uh-oh... G-Guards! Save me!" Maghda exclaimed as she tried to fly away with some bug wings on her back, but I simply grabbed hold of her with my chain whip and locked her feet into my grasp.

"Where is Adria and what do you know about her?!" I exclaimed at her.

"Why would I tell you anything?!" Maghda growled angrily and in fear.

"Just tell us and I'll let you go with your tail between your legs. Don't tell us, though?... This will happen to your head," I said as I shot one of her cultist guards through the head... and then that one bullet went through ten more heads until all of the cultists were dead.

"O-Okay!... Adria... she's in hiding in Caldeum. She plots to use Leah's body as a vessel for Diablo... to do this, she needs a Black Soulstone. And that's all I know. Now let me go! PLEASE!" Maghda exclaimed, me not smelling a single lie in her blood. Just fear. I retracted the chain and Maghda then teleported away as Lyndon picked up the sword sheathe with a frown.

"All that trouble for just a sword sheathe?" Lyndon asked.

"Not just any sheathe, Lyndon. The sheathe of a sword that belongs to an angel. We already have the hilt, now we have the sheathe. All that remains is the blade," I said. I then activated the Town Portal, all four of our group returning to New Tristram and seeing that the angel and Deckard were outside his house, which was next-door to the inn.

"We found the sheathe, now only the blade remains... can you think of where it may be, mister angel?" I asked him, the angel smiling as he put his fingers to his temples and thought.

"I think... I can see the sword... it fell near a fishing village..." he said.

"That must be the town of Wortham! We'll need to take a ferry to get there," Leah said.

"Got it. I'll go off to the town with Lyndon, Hawkaw, Kormac, and Lilith. You stay here to protect the town, okay, Leah?" I smiled at her.

"Be careful, Mandie," she said with a smile as she then went back into the house with Deckard and the angel.

"Let's go," Hawkaw smiled, our group rushing to the ferry and us telling it to him straight.

"We need to take a ferry to Wortham," I said to him.

"I can take you all there, but beware. Smoke rises from the village," the ferryman said, our group boarding the boat and taking the ride over... and when I saw the smoke over the village, I knew we had to act fast.

"Can this boat go any faster?! The village is in danger!" I exclaimed angrily.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" the ferryman yelled back.

"Here, let me help!" Lilith said as she started to blast wind spells behind us, allowing the boat to jet across the waves much faster than before, me needing to catch Hawkaw before she could fall in the waters! We reached the shore and beached the boat, our group rushing forward and seeing that the villagers were rushing to the ferries and the cultists following them. "Oh no you don't, assholes!" I exclaimed as I shot a headshot through any cultist I saw with Lilith and the others following, me remembering to put a shield up for Lilith when we got to a church and we saw Maghda show her visage.

"You will not interfere with my plans again! My servants will burn this town to ashes!" Maghda exclaimed as a bunch of cultists were warped to our locations with torches lit and even a couple of different demon spawn, me only then getting a bright idea.

"Kormac, you got any Holy Water?" I asked him.

"I always do," Kormac said as he produced it, me simply throwing the bottle into the air and focusing my powers into it. I exploded and combined the water with my powers and spread it all across the burning town, making it literally rain holy water all over, the demons burning from it minus Lilith and Hawkaw. Lilith because of my shield and Hawkaw because... well because she felt no pain from anything at all.

Maghda's visage then disappeared as some survivors came from the church.

"We thank you for saving us... and your strange creatures as well," the man said.

"Tell me, do you know of any blades that may have fallen here?" I asked him.

"Our fishers pulled it from the waters just yesterday... we had no idea what trouble it would cause until tonight. The blade is in the church's basement. I'll open the hatch for you," the man said, him going to the hatch and unlocking it with a key, our group busting in there and looking everywhere for it and then gasped when we saw that the blade used to be on a small pedestal... but it was gone! And then Maghda showed her visage again.

"While you were on your hero's quest here, I captured the rest of the sword pieces and your little friends," Maghda said, my heart immediately snapping in two when I heard that. I simply activated Town Portal and, the moment we reappeared in town, I slammed through the doors to the house and gasped when I saw that Maghda had her cultists subduing Cain, the Angel, and Leah all at once! And before I could make a move, Maghda halted me with some simple words. "If you move one inch, I'm going to kill the Angel where he stands!" Maghda exclaimed at me, me knowing I had to stay still, Maghda then turning to Cain and smiling sadistically.

"Now, Cain, be a good boy and put the sword back together, or would you rather see your daughter live without a face?" Maghda asked, me snarling as the cultists sent more blasts at Cain and he groaned in agony, Leah gasping and yelling angrily, her eyes glowing bright red and her aura turning from red to dark red. She was mad and she wasn't going to hide it. She exploded a giant blast that eradicated all of the cultists, managed to send Maghda flying back a bit, and it made the Angel and Cain fall to their knees.

"Impressive power you have, Leah. Very well... if I cannot have the sword, I will simply claim the one it is bound to!" Maghda yelled as she used a spell and I gasped as she called forth loyal demons to drag the angel into a portal right below his feet! "Do not interfere with me again. Belial will be the Prime Evil," Maghda said as she vanished, Leah rushing to Deckard and me sensing his spirit. It was barely there. He was at death's door.

"Uncle Deckard!" Leah was about to touch him before I halted her with some words.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" I exclaimed, Leah flinching at that. "If one of half demon or full demon blood touches a human after using their powers, they are refused access to heaven! They'll be eternally damned to hell!... I'm sorry..." I sighed, Leah crying as Deckard looked at me with a small smile.

"Before... I die... I know... what I must... do... the sword... must be made whole..." Cain groaned as he summoned the last of his strength and fixed the sword back to its original shape, me gasping when I saw what it was.

"El'Druin... The sword of the Archangel of Justice... Tyraeal..." I gawked at it.

"Please... Mandie... protect... my daughter... save... the... angel..." Deckard said, me looking at his eyes with a smile.

"You have my word," I said, Deckard smiling before then finally letting himself go, Leah crying out loudly as she heard Deckard take his last breath.

"Uncle Deckard!... NOO! WHYHYHYHY?!" Leah bawled in absolute anguish, me needing to pick her up and lead her outside, Kormac staying behind with Lyndon.

"Leah... we will not let Deckard's death be in vain," Lilith said, Leah sniffing at that.

"We need to find out where she took Tyraeal. We need to save him before going after Maghda," I said.

"When my power erupted... I could see where she was taking him. To Leoric's manor, to the far north of Wortham. By the way, she'll be expecting you," Leah warned.

"No, she'll be expecting us," Lilith said as she placed her hand on her cousin. "You expect us to let you stay behind? Your power is far greater than mine ever could be, cousin. You join us in saving that angel boy," Lilith said, me looking at Leah as she looked at me.

"Okay... Kormac! Lyndon!" Leah exclaimed, the duo emerging from the house instantly. "You're in charge of keeping New Tristram safe from intruders. Defend this town with your lives while we find the Angel, okay?" I said to them.

"Understood. Just don't hog all the limelight, ladies? It may hurt my pride," Lyndon smiled.

"Fine, fine, now let's go!" Hawkaw said impatiently.

"Agreed, let's rush off!" I said as we rushed back through the portal in town and we reappeared back in the church basement of Wortham. Now we'd have to make our way to Leoric's Manor, the place where his torture chambers and prisons were kept.


	9. Half-Demons Do What Spiders Fear

**Chapter 9**

Leah and our group proceeded back through the portal I made to the cellar of the church of Wortham, where we then climbed the stairs back to the top and surprised the priest that let us down there when we had an extra partner on our side.

"Did we have someone sneak into the cellar without us noticing?" the priest asked in confusion when he saw Leah.

"No, I had a Town Portal and I picked her up from New Tristram. That witch is effectively on our kill list now. She murdered Deckard Cain and kidnapped a very important man. He's being held captive at Leoric's Manor to the north of here. We require access to the nearest path there," I said to the priest, him gulping at that.

"You... you may wish to reconsider that plan, miss. The path to Leoric's Manor is all but on the other side of an impassable mountain. The only way there is to the caves that go through the mountain... but the creatures inside those caves? Anyone who has walked out of those caves is lucky to even tell the tale of what they see. And what they see? People getting their insides sucked from their bodies through the fangs of numerous gigantic spiders!" the priest said in fear, me seeing the sweat forming on his face.

"H-How big are they?... The spiders, that is?" Leah asked with a gulp.

"The hatchlings are as tall as your imp soldier. And a regular spider is as big as a fully grown man and faster than a roach! And beware of the biggest of them, the Spider Queen. Only her followers have ever seen her and lived long enough to tell the tale. Anyone else she captures is drained of all their body fluids and used as her personal egg hatchery," the priest said, Leah shivering at that and me holding onto her with a gentle, kind hand.

"Do you want to avenge Uncle Deckard, Leah?" I asked her, Leah gulping and nodding at that. "Then we're going to those caves. Besides, we got strength unsurpassed by any other man alive today! If you were able to make multiple cultists explode with one shout of rage, a spider would be no threat whatsoever," I smiled at her.

"Okay... it's just... I'm a bit of an arachnophobic," Leah said with a gulp.

"Yeah, it's okay to have some kind of fear. I mean, I'm scared of wasps in all honesty," I smiled at her.

"Then I would recommend staying away from Caldeum. They're deserts are ridden with giant sand wasps," Leah smiled at me, me sighing and shuddering at the thought, but letting it slide off me.

"Needless to say, we do need to head off to Caldeum in order to truly defeat this witch. But before we even think about it, we need to save that angel," I said with seriousness, the priest gasping at that.

"Angel? You mean the witch kidnapped an angel?... You're joking, right?" the priest asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"Remember the falling star that woke the dead in Tristram? Well, we found a man at the impact area of the fallen star and the sword blade you fished from the water was a part of him. And the sword? This is it," I said as I revealed the sword and the priest gawked at it.

"El'Druin, the sword of Justice... Guards! Open the gate for these travelers! They have a hero to save!" the priest exclaimed, the guards at the northern exit of town immediately listening and opening the gates up. "Now get going! And may the gods Bless you," the priest said with seriousness. I then nodded as we then proceeded to the northern gates, proceeding across a bridge and down a spiral staircase to the entrance of the caves. And upon entry and after I lit a brightness spell to light our path, what we saw made even Hawkaw ill. The entire place was overrun with cobwebs, the stench of death and decay, and the screeching of tons of giant spiders as they heard our footsteps. And below us? All the empty husks of the unfortunate souls that had been captured by the spiders.

"Okay, this place is my personal nightmare, it's just gotta be," Leah said as I saw her aura start to fluctuate heavily. I noticed this and I did something as I saw a gang of spiders approaching us.

"Boo!" I said suddenly, Leah screaming loudly as she then let out an impressive blast of fiery energy! It didn't hurt me, Lilith, or Hawkaw, but literally everything else within a 100 meter radius of us had been utterly cremated by the blast! ALL the spiders that looked at us with hunger were slowly burning to death, and since spider webbing was flammable, that meant it started to spread quickly to all the other areas in front of us, Leah gasping as she saw what she had done.

"I... I did that?" Leah asked as we then moved forward, our way completely cleared of the 8 legged freaks.

"It appears that your demonic power is actually fueled by fear itself. The more you fear something or the more you desire the thing to be afraid of you, the more powerful your magic becomes. I guess me using that jump scare just made it go off big time since I made you scared out of your mind," I smiled at her, Leah smiling at me before pinching me on the ear and pulling on it for a good five seconds. "OW! Okay, I deserved that, but still, you're powers could be used quite well," I smiled at her.

"Yeah... I guess you're right about that," Leah smiled.

"Yes, she is correct," Lilith said as we then came across an area that looked like an altar. And there looked to be a giant spider that was running all over the place trying to put out the flames she was covered in. And there was also a single woman standing at the entrance who had burn marks on her body, but was otherwise unharmed. Though she did look terrified of the spider.

"Welp, this is good, this is constructive. Now time for the coup de grace to finish this giant arachnid off," I smiled as I activated one of my favorite skills. I activated Elemental Arrow and shot the spider right through the butt with a giant arrow that exploded into flames upon impact, the butt exploding into all kinds of guts and bug parts and the giant spider dying four seconds after.

"Oh my god... you must be legendary Nephalem to have slain the entire nest of spider demons!" the woman at the exit to the north said with a bit of shakiness to her voice.

"Well, we are, but all of us are actually either demons or half-demons," I smiled as we then approached her and she looked a bit spooked by Lilith and Hawkaw, but loosened up when they simply smiled at her.

"Okay... so you're nice, right?" she asked.

"Yes, we are. We're on a rescue mission right now as we speak. And the one in need of rescue is a man imprisoned by the coven at Leoric's Manor," Leah said.

"The coven? Yeah, I did see them take a strange man of strange skin into the manor. I tried to get a better view, but I got caught by the tribe of Khazra that I stole a scepter from. They've locked the entrance to the northern parts of the valley, but considering that you were able to wipe out the entirety of the spiders in that cave, I'd say those goatmen should be more afraid of you than you are of them," the woman smiled, me smirking at that.

"What can I say? We've got demon powers on top of being Nephalem, so of course we're going to be the most powerful mortals in existence... just point us in the direction of the manor and we'll be on our way," Lilith smirked, me not even daring to mention that she wasn't actually a Nephalem.

"Go across the bridge and just continue to follow the path to the north. And you will find the manor at the edge of the northwestern-most cliff. Be wary on your travels, because even the foliage can be dangerous to you on this path," the woman said.

"By the way, we never learned yer name," Hawkaw smiled.

"My name is Kattarina. I need not learn your names, for I know I'll hear them in stories at a later date. Besides, you have a person to rescue, so you mustn't dilly-dally, especially if they took him to the manor of that wretched king," the woman said.

"So you're aware, Leoric wasn't always evil. It was Diablo that turned him into a monster. Poor Leoric went mad from the Lord of Terror," I explained as we then went on our way to the place where we'd find Tyraeal and the bitch that killed Deckard Cain. "Let's go rescue us an angel," I smiled widely.


	10. The Angel of Justice

**Chapter 10**

We proceeded through the Khazra stronghold completely unopposed as the goatmen were actually scared of our presence the moment I busted down their gate with a single Elemental Arrow attack! They actually stood in place and I saw that some of them had made pellets on the ground from the sheer noise of the blast!

"Well, this is new. The Khazra almost never get spooked this badly," Leah smiled at them as we moved through without turbulence. We then started to go further up the mountain trail and I saw that now the cultists were beginning to appear, me, Leah, Hawkaw, and Lilith attacking them with our own powers and making sure all of them were dead as we moved closer and closer to the manor. The bodies of the cultists lined the road as we finally made it to the front entrance of Leoric's manor, where we'd find Maghda and Tyraeal waiting below.

"Okay, everyone. Last chance to bail out," I smiled at them.

"Not on your life," Lilith said.

"Same. I won't stop until that witch pays," Leah growled.

"Here, here!" Hawkaw said with anger in her little voice.

"That's the spirit! Now let's go in there and find the Angel!" I smirked as we rushed into the place and proceeded to take out the cultists in our way quickly and quietly as we then moved into a balcony of sorts and we saw that Maghda was speaking with a bunch of cultists and some loyal demons in the form of the Hellions.

"They're unstoppable! No mortals could slay our brethren with such ease!" the one cultist said with anger.

"Yeah, I heard they're Nephalem! How can we compete with a Nephalem, let alone 4 of them?!" another cultists asked in shock.

"I care not what you think, just make sure she does not reach this place!" said Maghda angrily as I then made my presence known with a single arrow. I made sure to aim right for Maghda's hand and she gasped as I managed to make a clean hole right through the palm of her hand! "AAAUUUGHH! YOU BITCH!" Maghda exclaimed at me angrily as she then tried to rush up and attack me, but Hawkaw jumped in front of me and slashed Maghda with her sword, managing to make a gash all the way across her face. "GAGH! I need to retreat! Kill the-" Maghda was about to yell at her subordinates before she saw what Leah had done to them while Hawkaw distracted her. They were nothing but ash thanks to some Disintegration.

"Listen, Maghda, you know what we want. Just give back Tyraeal and we'll spare you. Don't give the angel back to us? Then we'll proceed to kill you right here and right now. It will all be to avenge Deckard's death," I frowned at her as I cocked my crossbow and aimed it at her head. Maghda looked to be full of fear at the touch of the tip of my arrow at her forehead.

"I can smell it. You're afraid. And you should be, considering you took away the only father figure I've ever known in my entire life!" Leah growled angrily as she exuded dark red aura again.

"No... please... spare me..." Maghda said with fear in her voice.

"Like we said, give up the angel and we'll let you live... for now at least," I frowned at her, Maghda gulping at that.

"A-As you wish... I cannot warp him here directly... but I can warp him as near as I can... in the prison area... second floor down..." Maghda gulped as she then waved her hand and I could feel it. Tyraeal's body had been diverted from the very bottom of the manor to the middle area.

"Now I suggest you get out of here before we change our minds about sparing you," I growled at her, Maghda whimpering as she then flew off into the distance as fast as her bug wings could let her fly.

"She's filled to the brim with fear... and for some reason, I love it..." Leah said with a growl.

"Keep in control of your emotions, cousin," Lilith said to Leah. "If you start to be like that, wishing fear upon your enemies, it'll only open you up to Diablo's influence. Trust me, it was the same with me and my father, only it was hatred instead," Lilith said, Leah sighing and doing a couple deep breaths before her aura returned to normal.

"Hah... I'm good now... so your dad was Mephisto?" Leah asked Lilith as I then noticed something. There was a man by the gates leading to the lower levels. And he was just barely alive!

I rushed to him and looked at him, the man groaning as he looked at me. "Sir..." I said to him with a sigh.

"They... did... horrible things... to us..." the man gagged as he coughed up blood. "Please... my wife... she's down in the prison... save... her..." the man said, me producing a tear as I felt the life leave his body.

"Maghda is going to pay for these crimes the next we see her, that much is for sure," I frowned.

"Let's go do a prison break, bawss!" Hawkaw said with anger in her eyes.

"I agree, let's go off, quickly!" Lilith said, our group smashing through the gate and going to the next level down, us seeing that the lower levels of Leoric's manor weren't as good-looking as the Cathedral. In fact, it was a torture chamber! The whole place was filled with giant cleaver machines, barrels that had corpses with swords in both, giant furnaces that spewed hellfire, and all the hellions and bastard cultists you could expect! We killed every single one of the enemies we saw as we made our way down the place, making sure to avoid the death traps bit by bit, which was a bit more difficult considering some of them were pretty quick-acting. But we managed to find the staircase leading down to the next level and we came upon an area on the outside of the castle, us going across the ramparts to another staircase that led to the prisons. And when we got to the main prison area, we saw someone appear... a ghost... who held her head in her hand. She was a ghost who had gotten the guillotine treatment.

"W-Who are you?" Lilith asked her.

"I am Asylla, once queen to our beloved Leoric... before he executed me after accusing me of treason..." the ghost said, me frowning at that.

"He wouldn't have done something so heinous to you if Diablo wasn't screwing with his mind, my queen," I said to her with dignity in my voice, Asylla sighing at that.

"I know, and I have forgiven his actions... but there are matters to discuss," Asylla said as she pointed through the door and I saw that Tyraeal was being held up in the center area by ten cultists. And all of them looked to have a shield of powerful magic protecting them. "The Angel is guarded and being drained of life by the cultists. But they are currently shielded with a barrier provided by the jailer, whose mere presence prevents us prisoners to move onto the afterlife. You must release the prisoners by destroying their bones within their cages. That should lure the jailer to attack you. I am confident you can best him in battle, Nephalem," Asylla said to us.

"Understood. Let's go," Lilith said, all of us proceeding to go to different areas. I proceeded to the top-most parts of the place and found a prisoner's spirit circling around a set of bones. I simply took a rock and smashed the bones to bits, the spirit disappearing into the ether, him saying 'Thank you' as he left for the afterlife.

I did this for another prisoner, this being a little girl that looked no older than 10 when she died and I then heard a deep voice appear from nearby.

"Guards?! Guards, attack the intruders?... Argh! Do I really have to do everything by myself? Very well," I heard the voice say before it appeared in front of me and he looked to be a very large skeletal guardian with a giant claymore on him. I simply shot an arrow through his head and he gasped as he felt it go through... but nothing else happened.

"You're already dead. Hell awaits you, monster," I frowned at him, the skeletal Jailer only then gasping as his bones broke apart and shattered into dust, the barrier protecting the cultists disappearing completely, making it quite easy for Lilith and Leah to get the jump on them and kill all of them, Tyraeal gasping as he fell to the ground, me seeing he was very badly injured.

I rushed up to him and held the sword in hand. "I... I am... dying..." he said wearily.

"Take up your sword, Tyraeal!" I said as I handed him the hilt of the sword.

"M-My sword..." Tyraeal gawked as he grabbed it and, just like that, a bright flash of light occurred! I got blinded for a few seconds before I could see again, me looking at Tyraeal and gawking at how he looked. He was covered in golden armor and a majestic cape and El 'Druin shined brighter than it ever did before. "I remember now. I was a member of the Angelic Counsel and the defender of mortals. I am the Archangel of Justice. I was... I am... Tyraeal," he said with vigor in his voice, Hawkaw gulping and hiding behind Lilith, who in turn hid behind Leah, both of them rightfully afraid of an angel of this much power.

"Sorry for all the trouble that's happened, Tyraeal," I sighed at him.

"There is no need to feel sorry. For now, we need to take action. I remember my mission. It is to destroy the last of the Lords of Hell living in the mortal realm. We must make haste and slay both Belial, Lord of Lies and Azmodan, Lord of Sin," Tyraeal said with seriousness.

"We can't... not without giving Deckard a proper sendoff," I said, Leah sighing and producing a few tears at that.

"Of course. Let us proceed back to New Tristram via the Town Portal," Tyraeal said, me nodding and using it, our group reappearing in town and us going over to Lyndon and Kormac with a smile.

"Thanks for defending the town while we were away, boys," I smiled at them, Hawkaw and Lilith still a bit worried about being so close to Tyraeal.

"You're welcome, Mandie..." Lyndon said, him looking at Tyraeal in awe.

"We need a caravan ride to go to Caldeum. That is where we will find Belial, Lord of Lies. But before we proceed, we will do as Leah and Mandie requested and give Deckard Cain a hero's burial," Tyraeal said, Leah sobbing a bit at that.

It was decided that Lilith and I would carry Cain's body up to the heroic altar at the top of a hill overlooking New Tristram, the road completely free of the undead as we got there and laid his body upon the altar of wood. Leah then held Cain's book with a sad smile.

"All just a bunch of stories... all of them true... I'm so sorry that I never believe you until it was too late, Uncle Deckard..." Leah said with tears in her eyes.

"He was a brave and wise man. A man of sacrifice. Who risked his life for the good of the world," Tyraeal said, me smiling at that, but Leah? She got a bit hostile and glared at Tyraeal angrily.

"What would you know about sacrifice?!" Leah growled at Tyraeal, him frowning and his eyes glowing, me gasping as I saw an event play out before my very eyes.

"TYRAEAL! You are not to conspire with the humans! You must stay HERE!" yelled the voice of the most angry of all the angels. It was Imperius, the Angel of Valor!

"The mortals are our only hope! Yet you decide to put me on trial for saving them and us from destruction?! This council is not in the right mind!" Tyraeal yelled back, me seeing something that was different... the Tyraeal in the vision was just as he was depicted in my dreams. Full cloak of white and gold with a blue light instead of a head.

The duo of angels then connected blow after blow to each other, Imperius getting more frustrated before Tyraeal had finally had enough. "Fine! If you won't stop this madness, then I am no longer an Angel of Heaven!" Tyraeal yelled as I then saw him do the unthinkable. He grabbed the wings on his back and tore them right off! The moment he did this, Imperius gasped audibly as Tyraeal then had the ground open up beneath him and his form began to change into that of what he now looked like, his sword shattering into three pieces as he fell.

"And so... I fell... willingly. Because I knew that the only way to save the world... is by giving mankind the chance it deserves," Tyraeal said with a smile, Leah gawking and sniffling in a booger, me seeing that Haedrig and Mira watched from afar.

Leah then held the book in her grasp with a sad smile. "I will finish it, Uncle. I will carry on your legacy," Leah said with seriousness in her voice, her then moving back and Tyraeal lighting the altar. "The book of the End Times... I hate to say it, but it may very well be the last of our days with all of the events as of late... unless we can stop it somehow," Leah said with seriousness.

"We should go, Leah... Cain wouldn't want us to wallow in despair in his passing. He'd want us to move onward and save the innocents from the demonic scourge," I said to her, Leah smiling at that.

"You're right... thanks, Mandie," Leah smiled at me as she then walked over and hugged me, which I hugged her back with a smile... but what did she do after that? She pecked a kiss on my cheek, me being surprised at that, but Leah smiling when she did so. "Thank you... for everything," Leah smiled at me... it was then that she simply closed her eyes and fell down, me checking her and seeing she was just sleeping. She was exhausted.

"She's resting... let's go," I said, moving our group to the caravans and me looking at Haedrig and Mira.

"You want to come with us, Haedrig and Mira? We may need your help in crafting more weapons and armor in the future," Tyraeal said to them, Haedrig smiling and nodding at that.

"Course we are. Can't very well stay behind on this grand of an adventure," Haedrig said as we then hopped in the caravan and proceeded to the east. Caldeum awaited us.


	11. Allies in the Desert

**Chapter 11**

During the ride to Caldeum, I held the sleeping Leah the whole way there, her smile on her the whole time until the time reached midnight. She then started to toss and turn in her sleep, which I shook her awake and she gasped at it.

"Nightmares?" I smiled at her.

"Yeah... I dreamed about the battle of Arreat again... and I saw Tyraeal fighting Baal," Leah said with a sigh.

"I had that dream a couple times myself," I smiled at her, me looking behind us and seeing that the others were all asleep. Hawkaw was snoring cutely while the others were sleeping quietly. "Listen, Leah... about that kiss you gave me earlier... was it really just for thanking me? Or was there something more to it?" I asked her, Leah smiling and blushing at that.

"It was... it was also because... I don't know why, but I'm attracted to you... I didn't want to say it in front of the others, but I'm in love with you," Leah said, me looking at her with a small smile.

"As in, you view me as a suitor? For us to possibly get married one day?" I smiled as I held her hand.

"Yeah... like that... and I know of something from what Uncle Deckard once taught me. Half-demons like us can get pregnant from other half-demons during any kind of intercourse," Leah smiled.

"When our adventures are through, I'd be more than happy to be your love," I smiled at her as I kissed her on the lips for a good three seconds, Leah smiling at it with a blush. "Now I think I'll go to sleep instead... you can stand watch, right?"

"Of course," Leah smiled as I laid my head down on Hawkaw's tummy and started to snooze myself, Hawkaw not even caring as she just continued to snooze without a care.

* * *

When we finally arrived in Caldeum, we smiled at the beauty of the place, especially the fact that we were atop a hill that overlooked the splendor of the city. But there were a few spare people in our camp that came from Caldeum that confused me, particularly a woman wearing elaborate robes and red face paint.

"Excuse me, who are you?" I asked the woman, her sighing at that.

"I am Reah... I was once a member of the Caldeum royal house... but just yesterday, Emperor Hakan II accused me of treason and banished me from the city... this is as close as I am allowed to get there. Why would he find me guilty of treason when I was one of the most quiet of the royal house? And the fact that I spent 90 percent of my time in the royal archives? I have a feeling that something is happening in that palace. Something that is hurting the Emperor more than anything," the woman said, me sniffing the air around me and me gasping.

"Belial... his stench reigns heavy over this city. And it's coming from... well, everywhere... he sure knows how to hide his tracks," I frowned at that.

"Okay, now we'll need to split up. I'm at home in the sewer systems of Caldeum, so I'm going to try to find a way to the palace through the sewers. Meanwhile, you should take a team to find Maghda. Make her pay for killing those innocent people," Leah said to me, me nodding seriously at that. I failed to mention before, but the wife of the man that the coven killed in the manor? She was one of the spirits who we had to send to the afterlife. Her bones were fresh and so was her corpse in the cell she was kept in. It made me sick to think that the innocents were in the line of fire from Belial.

"Time to get dangerous. Oh, how I love getting up to no good," Lyndon smiled widely.

"Indeed. You, me, and Hawkaw will go and try to find out Maghda's location. Kormac and Lilith, you stay here and protect the others in case anything happens," I said to the former Templar and Leah's cousin/aunt.

"Don't worry, Mandie, we'll keep the group safe," Kormac said with a smile. We then went off down the hill and into Caldeum, me seeing a single woman near the entrance to the city. She was dressed in warrior's garb and was about to draw her sword when she saw Hawkaw in particular... but then holstered it when she saw her leash on me.

"If you were looking to think of Hawkaw as a monstrous imp, miss, apologies, but she's not. In fact, she's just a mischievous scamp," I smiled at her, Hawkaw snickering at that.

"Oh, sorry... ahem, who may you be?" the woman asked.

"I'm named Mandie. I come from New Tristram in hunt of the wicked witch, Maghda, servant of Belial," I said to her.

"You're in luck, then. I am Asheara and my Iron Wolves mercenaries have been hunting her down as well. From what the sources have said, she resides in Alcarnus, far to the northwest of our current position through the desert. But beware, the cultists have perfected illusion magics and you may find turbulence trying to chase down that witch," the woman said, me nodding at that.

"Okay, thanks for the information," I said to her as we then rushed out to the road leading to the northwest desert... and when we got to a canyon area, we came across someone we didn't expect. It was a woman wearing regular pedestrian clothes, but holding a powerful wand on her person. And she looked to be very young in appearance, but I could sense she was very powerful and that... well, she smelled extremely ancient.

"Hello, who may you be?" Lyndon asked with a smile.

"Oh, hello. My name is Eirena. I was supposed to try to locate the Prophet, but I can't recall where he is... do you need assistance?" the woman asked with an inflection in her voice.

"Well, we could always use a spare sorceress on our team," I smiled at her, the woman smiling and shaking her head at that.

"I'm not really a sorceress, but an enchantress. I am skilled at combating illusionary magics as well as casting assistance spells," Eirena said, me smiling at that.

"Huh... what a coincidence! We need someone to help us take out a murderous witch whose servants specialize in illusions! Looks like you're it!" I smiled at her.

"Yeah! Da bawss is always lookin' for more help!" Hawkaw smiled at her, Eirena smiling at her.

"Sounds like a deal, then. Let us be on our way, yes?" Eirena smiled, us going into the canyon area and proceeding through, where we came across some monsters in the form of Swarms of insects, Dune Threshers, and of course, Sand Wasps. I hated those things especially as they could shoot their venomous stingers at you from a distance! But Hawkaw knew I was afraid of them, so anytime a Sand Wasp appeared, she handled taking the blunt of the stinging blows before rushing in and slashing them in half!

"Okay, let's move on," I said as we then arrived at a dead-end, but Eirena gasped.

"Be careful, this is an illusion. Allow me," Eirena said as she cast a spell and the wall disappeared to reveal a group of ten cultists, which we all eliminated in a snap.

"So where do you come from, Eirena?" Lyndon asked. But before she could respond, we saw a group of soldiers retreating from some very nasty creatures. The lacuni. I simply shot an arrow through each of the beasts' bodies until all of them were destroyed, the main leader of the soldiers sighing a breath of telief.

"If not for you, the Lacuni would've eaten well today. Thanks," the soldier smiled.

"Thanks. Do you know of the way to Alcarnus?" I asked him.

"You may not have much luck. the road is blocked by debris," he said.

"Is that all? I can clear the way then," I smiled at him.

"Okay, but before you head to Alcarnus, I ask that you go to the guard station to the north of Alcarnus. Our captain took a rest stop there and we haven't heard anything since."

"Sounds like the work of Belial. Don't worry, we'll rescue them," I said to the soldiers as they went back to town, allowing our group some talking time.

"So where do you come from, Awrena?" Hawkaw asked the Enchantress.

"Well, that's the thing... I come from many eons ago... I woke from a thousand year slumber that my master, the Prophet, put me under with my fellow sisters... but sadly, I am the only one left alive..." Eirena sighed.

"Sorry to hear that..." I said to her.

"I feel I must ask, but why are we going after this witch?" Eirena asked.

"She and her coven not only work for Belial, Lord of Lies, but they killed hundreds of people, including our friend Deckard Cain," I said with a frown.

Eirena frowned and thought for a bit before clasping her hands together. "Then you must be the ones the Prophet foretold of for me to find! He mentioned a group of heroes and half-demons doing battle with the greatest of evils and to join their cause!" Eirena smiled.

"Well, we do have the legendary hero part to us and Leah and myself classify as half-demons. Welcome to the team, Eirena," I smirked at her. Eirena smiled and laughed as we finally got to the barricaded road. "Watch this," I smiled as I focused a powerful bit of demon energy into my pouch bomb and threw it at the barricade. The resulting explosion not only cleared the way, but it also was used at the best time possible, as a plethora of innocents poured through and ran through the dunes. And what were they running from? Cultists. "Lyndon and Eirena, you escort the refugees back to Caldeum. We're off to save the people of Alcarnus and the soldiers at the guard place," I said with seriousness as I looked at Hawkaw and removed her leash. "You go to the barracks to the north and save the guards if you find them. Tell them that Asheara sent you," I said to Hawkaw.

"You got it, bawss!" she said as she adjusted her helmet and ran off to the north while I went east. It was time to finally end the life of the wicked witch.


	12. Witches in Caldeum

**Chapter 12**

Once I had Hawkaw split up from me, I made my way to Alcarnus and gasped as I saw even more refugees trying to escape, me barely making it in time to stop a horde of hellions and mutated cultists from attacking them!

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" I yelled as I shot each of the monsters with arrows through the skull, me then getting the warp portal nearby activated. "Enter the portal, hurry!" I said, the civilians rushing to it as I then went into the city and saw it was not only trashed, but there were numerous innocent people trapped in cages. I took out any cultists and hellions I saw before opening the cages for each of the citizens. But after I released the final one, I heard some clattering in one of the nearby houses. I went inside to see if there were anymore cultists... but I instead saw that someone was hiding under the bed. And she looked terrified.

"Hey, it's okay, little one. I'm a friendly," I smiled at her, the girl then sniffling and emerging from under the bed with me seeing that she had blood stains on her dress but she was unhurt.

"T-The coven... they killed my parents... I'm all that's left..." she cried, me scrunching my nose at that.

"That despicable witch... okay, I'm going to finish her off. You stay here. I'll be back after I kill the witch that did this to your town," I said to her.

"Be careful, she's very tough," the girl said. "My name's Lanna... by the way," she said, me nodding at that and her hiding under the bed again as I exited the house and then took care of a few more stray cultists before finally going into the lair of the witch, me approaching her and her actually appearing before me willingly.

"No illusions this time? Looks like somebody wants to pay for all the lives of the innocent people she murdered," I frowned at her.

"It matters not, bitch! While you hunted me, Belial's servants captured your little witch Leah," Maghda said, my eye twitching at that as I felt very angry at what she'd just called my girlfriend.

"Leah... IS NOT A WITCH!" I yelled as I then shot her directly in the torso with an elemental arrow, Maghda gasping as her stomach then had a large, gaping hole inside of it and she fell to the ground with barely any life in her body at all.

"Im... possible... how can you have... this much power?..." Maghda asked with blood coming from her mouth.

"My mother was a servant of Belial just as much as you are. And I killed her when she killed my little sister. And now I will end you before I finally kill Belial himself. When you get to hell, do everyone a favor and burn for eternity," I frowned at her as I then shot her through the skull, Maghda gasping as her body then fell to the ground and turned into ashes, revealing that she had been given youth from Belial.

I immediately proceeded to Lanna's house again, me grabbing her and meeting back up with Hawkaw just outside of Alcarnus, her looking to have a bit of jitteriness to her movements that I couldn't place. "Hawkaw? You look like you've seen a ghost... what happened?" I asked her, Lanna a bit scared until I put the leash on my imp friend again.

"Slithers... everywhere..." Hawkaw gulped, me only then getting it.

"I knew it. I knew that Belial's Deceivers would disguise themselves as the guards of the palace! We need to regroup. Lanna, you come back with us and we'll keep you safe," I said, her nodding at that.

"I trust you," she said as I then warped us back to the hill overlooking Caldeum with the Town Portal, Tyraeal looking surprised at me having a little girl and looking at me in confusion. "Alcarnus was a massacre, Tyraeal... this girl's parents were killed as well as roughly 30 innocents. Maghda is dead now, but she said Belial captured Leah while I was hunting her," I said to him.

"Then we must go to the palace to find her. You should keep the little one here in the meantime," Tyraeal said, me nodding.

"Right, it's too dangerous for Lanna to go with us," I said with a frown.

"I was talking about Hawkaw," Tyraeal said, the imp looking surprised at that as well as Lanna. "If we can show proof of Alcarnus's massacre being by Belial's hands, then the Emperor may find favor in our group. And I want Hawkaw to stay behind for two reasons. First, the palace is sure to be filled with Deceivers and I already know how she's scared stiff of legless creatures like snakes and eels. And secondly, I want to have a talk with her. I want to know more about her past," Tyraeal said, me only then getting it.

"Uh... hehe... ya promise not to try hurtin' me with your angel powers, right? I can handle regular hits, but nothin' like angel magic," Hawkaw said with fear.

"Don't worry, Hawkaw, he's not going to hurt you, just delve into your mind. He did it with me as well," Lilith said.

"Okay, Lilith, you and Kormac come with me. Eirena and Lyndon, you stay behind in case anything happens. We'll be back shortly," I said as I led Lanna, Lilith, and Kormac down to the main area... but not before Lilith made a convincing disguise to make her look more civilian, hiding her horns underneath a tall helmet just in case. "We'll need to talk to Asheara in order to get into the palace and I see her over by the entrance by a large crowd of people," I said as I had us push through the crowd slightly until we got to her.

"Oh, it's you. I heard from this crowd that you rescued them from Alcarnus. I thank you for that," Asheara said.

"Yes, but we need to see the emperor for important matters. And we'd like it if Lanna here can come with us. She was a survivor of the coven's attack," I said.

"Captain Ravan, we have some visitors for the Emperor," Asheara said to one of the captains.

"Very well, though I don't think you will find him very accommodating," the captain said as he and Asheara led me through the palace to the Emperor's throne room, where I saw he was standing at the top of a balcony of sorts while he had four different soldiers near him... but I could smell Belial's scent all over the soldiers. They were Deceivers.

"You are bold to request an audience with me!" the Emperor said when he saw me, which made me frown. "My guards tell me you were responsible for the massacre of innocent villagers at Alcarnus," he said, Lanna gasping at that and talking back immediately.

"SHE'S THE BOLD ONE?! She saved my fucking life! If it weren't for her, I'd be dead from the coven! They were the ones that killed my parents! The coven was the one who massacred Alcarnus! And yet you did absolutely fucking nothing to help out!" Lanna exclaimed in anger, me looking at her with worry as I saw the guards take up arms at her outburst, the Emperor looking a bit perplexed... I could sense it. He was on our side... but then he spoke some words that I knew he didn't want to say.

"If she is innocent, then why does she have a spy skulking through my sewers? Bring her in!" Hakan said, a couple more guards coming from the side door with Leah in their grasp, me seeing that she was tied up by the wrists.

"Let me go!" Leah exclaimed, Lanna then picking up a rock and about to throw it at the emperor before I stopped her.

"I detest violence. Guards, I leave this matter in your hands," the Emperor Hakan said, me seeing him exit through a door and me only then doing something that I knew the guards wouldn't like.

"HRRRAARGH!" I exclaimed angrily as I snapped my fingers, my spell emerging out from the blast. It did something to every single one of the Deceivers and to Lilith. It made them lose their disguises in an instant, them being surprised at that long enough for me to send a bullet through each of their skulls, Asheara untying Leah's hands in the meantime.

"Come on, we need to get going!" Asheara commanded.

"You think I don't know that?!" Lilith asked in anger as we then rushed through the ramparts back to the entrance, finding many more Deceivers on the way that tried to attack us with Lilith, Leah, and myself taking them out until we came across a barrier. And it was being controlled by four demonic devices. I simply aimed my pouch bombs at each one and, after they blew up, the barrier fell down, giving us the time needed to rush through and into the front entrance, where we came across at least fifteen different Deceivers all over!

"Quick, go to the sewers! I'll cover your escape!" Asheara said seriously, her opening a manhole cover hidden under a rug when the coast was clear, all of us rushing into it and her closing it up in an instant, making our group enter the damp and dark sewage system.

"That was scary... who's this little girl to have that loud of a swearing voice?" Leah asked when she saw Lanna.

"I'm Lanna... sorry for the outburst... I just got really mad at the emperor for not listening or helping at all," Lanna growled.

"He had a good reason to, though," I said, the others looking at me in confusion. "I could smell it all over his person. He was on our side, but he was saying things he didn't want to. If my memories on Belial's cunning serves me right, I have reason to believe he'll try to possess Hakan II in order to single-handedly kill every human in Alcarnus AND Caldeum," I said, the trio of girls and Kormac gasping at that.

"That is truly despicable... if that were to happen... no, we won't let it happen. I hate to admit it, but we'll need to go with Plan B," Leah said as she rushed forward through the sewers, me and the others following her and taking out more monsters in the form of Electric Eels, Deceivers, and even Accursed demons, which exuded horrid acidic bile upon death, but luckily these sewers were for drainage, not for drinking or bathing.

"What's Plan B, Leah?" Lilith asked.

"Before I was captured, I overheard some Deceivers talking. They captured my mother Adria and are interrogating her in these very sewers, trying to find the location of the Black Soulstone. It's apparently a variant of the Soulstone that can trap multiple demons of great power, not just a singular entity like with Aiden's Soulstone," Leah explained.

"I see... but we'll need to play the dumb game with her, especially with what Maghda said she wanted to do to you," I frowned to Leah.

"I know that already. I'm going to play dumb just as much as everyone else. But we'll need to have someone go back to tell the others about this plan," Leah said.

"Then leave that to me. I'll warp myself back to camp and tell them. Just stay safe in the meantime, cousin," Lilith said to Leah, her then smirking and warping away in a cloud of red vapor... which for some reason made me angry when I accidentally sniffed in some of it.

"Rgh... must be her being Mephisto's kid... that mist makes people hateful..." I growled as we then moved up a ladder nearby with Lanna in the middle of our group. And when we saw what was at the top, we needed to stay calm and protect Lanna dearly. A giant Deceiver was attacking an older woman dressed in white and red robes and holding a staff in hand.

"Tell us about the Black Soulstone, Adria! Where is the location?!" the Deceiver exclaimed angrily, Adria groaning from the electricity and speaking some words as I then moved forward.

"You're vile master has good reason to fear it..." Adria growled as I then rushed out and attacked the main Deceiver with a bolt through the face, which I saw a bunch of other Deceivers appear out of nowhere. Kormac handled the ones that tried going after Lanna and Leah took care of any that were closing in on me and Adria. And after killing up to 12 of them, all of them were gone and Adria was given some air to breathe.

"Leah... my daughter," Adria puffed.

"You're my mother... right? And how did you know my name? I haven't seen you before in my life," Leah said, dropping a small truth bomb on her mother that she needed, while still making sure she wasn't onto our plan.

"Daughter, I have been keeping watch of you ever since you were born. I had to give you to Gillian so that you wouldn't be endangered by Belial's minions," Adria said, me wondering if that was true or not.

"Ahem... I hate to interrupt this 'happy reunion', but this place is a danger zone and we need to keep this little one safe. Now come here and I'll use a Town Portal," I said, Adria nodding and approaching me with the others, me then warping us to the camp in an instant.


End file.
